USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport, published its annual growth report, showing membership increased nearly 30 percent in 2022 from 2021. 

The organization’s current members number nearly 69,000 compared to 53,110 in 2021.

“The entire industry saw 2022 as an unprecedented year of growth for our sport, but having numbers to support those observations is incredibly insightful,” said Stu Upson, USA Pickleball CEO. “It is especially noteworthy to see our membership grow by almost one-third over the past year.”

2022 USA Pickleball By The Numbers:

  • 68,697 registered USA Pickleball members, an increase of 29.4 percent over 2021;
  • The organization’s Places2Play database grew from 9,167 to 10,724 or 130 new locations per month or more than four per day;
  • 44,094 courts compared to 38,140 in 2021, a 15.6 percent increase;
  • The USA Pickleball Equipment and Evaluation Committee (EEC) and its independent lab tested and approved 525 new paddles and 34 new balls in 2022;
  • 1,973 volunteers promoted the game at the local level supporting new programs and facilities;
  • USA Pickleball sanctioned 237 tournaments in 2022 compared to 153 in 2021, including USA Pickleball’s Indoor National Championships, National Championships and the Diamond Amateur Championship;
  • USA Pickleball awarded 72 community grants and 66 Youth/Collegiate grants, with a total allocation of $41,100. In 2021, 87 community grants and 24 high school grants were awarded, with a total allocation of $30,950;
  • The 2022 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships were held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, CA, drawing nearly 2,300 amateur players, while the sport’s top pro players competed for $150,000 in prize money, compared to $90,000 in 2021. On November 13, the event also set the record for the largest attendance for the sport at 5,522.
  • The inaugural USA Pickleball Diamond Amateur Championship was played at the Pictona complex outside Daytona Beach, FL. It was the first championship with 1,193 qualifiers from 12 Diamond Regional tournaments competing for a spot to play at the 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships;
  • USA Pickleball certified 45 new referees in 2022, increasing the total number to 212;
  • On the coaching side, USA Pickleball’s teaching and training partner, Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) has roughly 4,300 members. In 2022, PPR conducted 202 workshops in the U.S. with 1,935 workshop participants; and
  • USA Pickleball directly supports the development of over $100 million in new facilities, including more than 25 regional and sector-level venues.

For more by the numbers, go here.