Americans played pickleball in 2025.
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association reported 24.3 million U.S. participants for 2025.
Source: Sports & Fitness Industry Association, June 4, 2026I Am Playful / Sports
Pickleball
statistics
A concise U.S. reference on pickleball participation, player growth, and who is joining the game.
Last updated September 10, 2026The snapshot
Participation is still climbing.
These figures come from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's 2026 Pickleball Single Sport Report release. Each statistic links directly to the June 4, 2026 source so it is easy to verify and cite.
All participant counts refer to people in the United States. The latest figures describe 2025 participation unless a different year is noted.
Participation and player trends
Six pickleball statistics to know.
Participation grew sharply in five years.
SFIA reported 4.2 million participants in 2020 and 24.3 million in 2025.
Source: Sports & Fitness Industry Association, June 4, 2026Pickleball led U.S. sports growth for five consecutive years.
SFIA described pickleball as the nation's fastest-growing sport for the fifth year in a row.
Source: Sports & Fitness Industry Association, June 4, 2026Teens and young adults had the highest participation rate.
The 13-24 age group posted the highest rate of participation among all reported age segments.
Source: Sports & Fitness Industry Association, June 4, 2026Women accounted for 42.9% of pickleball players in 2025.
That compares with 38.6% in 2020, according to SFIA's report.
Source: Sports & Fitness Industry Association, June 4, 2026Core players reached 7.5 million in 2025.
SFIA defines core players as people who play at least eight times per year. The count was 1.4 million in 2020.
Source: Sports & Fitness Industry Association, June 4, 2026Reading the data
A broader player base, with more repeat play.
The most useful signal is not only the headline participation total. The source also points to strong participation among younger players, a larger share of women players, and a growing number of people playing regularly. Together, those trends suggest that pickleball is becoming part of more people's weekly routines.
For players, that means more reasons to show up with personality. Explore pickleball shirts and court-day extras made for the social, active side of the game.
Methodology and sources
How to use this page.
This page reports figures published by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association in its June 4, 2026 release for the 2026 Pickleball Single Sport Report. I Am Playful does not estimate, project, or adjust the figures. Where the source compares years, both years are shown.
The release describes a core pickleball player as someone who plays eight or more times per year. For deeper demographic and regional detail, refer to the full SFIA Pickleball Single Sport Report release.
Cite this page
I Am Playful. "Pickleball Statistics: Participation & Growth in the U.S." Updated September 10, 2026. https://iamplayful.com/pickleball-statistics.
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