Selkirk Sport’s Co-CEOs, Mike and Rob Barnes, spoke with SGB Executive about the pickleball brand’s recent funding round from Bluestone Equity Partners, pickleball paddles and footwear innovation, the competitive landscape, and pickleball growth drivers.
The Barnes brothers, shown right, launched Selkirk Sport, based in Hayden, ID, in 2014.
Pickleball ranked as the fastest-growing U.S. sport, according to the Sports & Fitness Association’s (SFIA) 2026 Topline Participation Report, increasing by 22.8 percent year-over-year to 24.3 million players, marking growth of 171.8 percent over the past three years.
SGB: Have you seen signs that the interest in pickleball is leveling off? Are you as bullish on the sport’s growth potential today?
Mike Barnes: We’re still incredibly bullish. With more than 20 million players according to recent participation data, we are nowhere near the ceiling globally. What we’re seeing right now is a shift from pickleball being primarily an American sport to becoming a global one. We’re seeing huge growth in places like Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia. New markets seem to pop up almost every month, and the data suggest the sport has a much higher ceiling than most people initially expected. To stay ahead of that, we established two international headquarters in 2025 — one in Malaysia to anchor our Asian operations and another in Estonia for the European market.
SGB: What do you see as driving pickleball’s next growth phase?
Mike Barnes: In the U.S., the number of facilities and courts continues to support growth; however, the biggest need is more structure locally through consistent programming such as leagues, clinics and skill-based play. That’s part of the reason we’re launching Selkirk Academy: to create organized, theme-based clinics in key markets, so players have a place to improve, meet others at their level and plug into the community. But the real engine of the sport’s future is the youth movement. Pickleball used to have a reputation as a sport for older adults, but that’s no longer accurate. The 25- to 34-year-old age group is now the largest and fastest-growing segment, with more than three million players.
We’re also seeing a new generation of “pickleball-first” athletes who are choosing pickleball as their primary competitive sport. That’s why we launched the first Pickleball Combine and why we’re investing so heavily in college teams through the APP Selkirk Collegiate Series. If players can realistically see a pathway from junior play to college to the pros, that changes the entire trajectory of the sport.
SGB: Padel is getting some hype. Do you see padel as a threat to pickleball?
Rob Barnes:Although padel disrupted pickleball’s initial momentum in Europe, we don’t expect it to have that same impact in the U.S. market, mainly because of its infrastructure requirements. Padel courts are significantly more expensive to build, so the barrier to entry is much higher for both developers and players. That naturally limits how quickly the sport can scale. What we are seeing is that some newer facilities are starting to include padel as an add-on, and we think that’s great. Statistics show that more than 65 percent of racket sport enthusiasts play more than one discipline throughout the year. So, we view padel as more of a complementary experience.
SGB: Is Selkirk Sport looking to make product for the padel category, as well as other racquet sports?
Rob Barnes: We’re going to stay focused. We’re a pickleball company, and that’s very intentional. Even our name reflects that choice: Selkirk Sport, singular, not “Sports.” We believe being a specialist allows us to innovate at a level that broader multi-sport brands simply can’t. Instead of spreading ourselves across other racket sports, we’re going deeper into pickleball. That’s why we’ve invested in things like technical footwear designed specifically for the movements of the sport, and why we spend so much time on education and player development. Our belief is that focusing all of our resources on one sport is what allows us to stay at the forefront.
SGB: Can you identify the stats on the company’s growth and the sources of that growth?
Mike Barnes: Our growth has been pretty remarkable. Since 2019, we’ve grown revenue by about 1,900 percent, and our team has expanded from fewer than 20 employees to more than 220 today. A significant driver for our future is expansion into Asia. Markets like Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines are incredibly exciting right now. That’s why we established our regional headquarters in Malaysia and have started sponsoring major events across the region.
Paddles are still the foundation of the business, but footwear is an area with tremendous opportunity. Our high-performance pickleball shoes have sold out faster than we anticipated. At this point, our growth isn’t tied to just one product category anymore. It’s about building a complete ecosystem for pickleball players worldwide.
SGB: What is today’s competitive landscape in the paddle category, and how are you positioning that business? Are paddles still your largest category?
Rob Barnes: Paddles are still by far our largest category. When we started back in 2014, the industry looked very different. There were only a handful of small wooden paddle makers, and today there are more than 800 brands competing in the space. One of the ways we’ve stayed competitive is by building a tiered ecosystem that serves players at every stage of their journey. We have SLK by Selkirk, which offers a premium feel for entry-level players and those just getting into the sport. Then there’s Selkirk Sport, which is our flagship line for competitive players. And finally, Selkirk Labs, essentially our R&D arm, where players can get early access to the newest paddle technologies we’re developing. That approach lets us support players whether they’re just picking up a paddle for the first time or competing at the highest levels.
SGB: What are some of the highlights of recent innovations you’re bringing to paddles?
Rob Barnes: A lot starts in our R&D lab in Coeur d’Alene, ID. We’ve invested more than $1 million into that facility because we believe innovation is what keeps the sport moving forward. The flagship release from labs recently was the Project Boomstik, which introduced multiple new technologies. A key innovation is what we call the BoomCore. It combines a PureFoam structure with an EVA Power Ring to address a common problem called core crush, one of the main ways paddles fail over time. The BoomCore delivers strong power right out of the box, with no break-in period required. Another innovation is our MOI Tuning System. Essentially, we’re applying physics to the paddle by increasing the moment of inertia through perimeter weighting. What that means for players is greater stability on off-center hits, a larger effective sweet spot and less twisting in your hand.
SGB: Selkirk Sport launched its first footwear range in 2023. Can you talk about the footwear opportunity?
Rob Barnes: Pickleball players move very differently from runners, and that creates specific biomechanical needs. Things like lateral stability, quick directional changes and strong ankle support are critical. Many beginners play in running shoes, but those aren’t designed for pickleball’s movement. At higher levels of play, they can affect performance and increase injury risk. And many court shoes on the market are just renamed tennis court shoes, which are optimized for different play patterns and have not seen innovation in many years. So, we decided to design something specifically for pickleball.
SGB: How is Selkirk Sport’s footwear being received?
Rob Barnes: The market response, and response from trusted shoe reviewers, has been great. We sold out of the CourtStrike 1.0 and even the first restock after that. This year, we launched CourtStrike 2.0, along with a new model called the Legacy, designed to perform well on the court and look good off the court. And we have more planned. Each court shoe line will have a specific mission.
SGB: Where do you see the competition coming from these days?
Mike Barnes: We’re still seeing brands entering the space, some from tennis, golf, and even legacy sports brands. However, barriers to entry are increasing due to technology, IP, channel saturation, and the need to stand out from the noise. Most are failing, even from major, world-renowned brands. The challenge for these brands is speed. Pickleball moves incredibly fast. At Selkirk, we can take an idea from our lab and get it into players’ hands relatively quickly, whereas a large multi-sport brand often has a much longer product cycle. They think pickleball will be easy, but the technology and equipment are actually incredibly nuanced, requiring deep expertise.
SGB: How are you getting the word out on Selkirk Sport?
Mike Barnes:We think about marketing as sitting at the intersection of commerce, content, culture, and community. Many brands focus heavily on one demographic, but pickleball is unique because it spans so many different groups. So, instead of trying to force everything into one message, we organize our marketing into three basic tiers. At the entry and social level, we focus on high-energy, digital campaigns that highlight the fun, lifestyle side of the sport. That’s where our SLK by Selkirk line typically fits. For more competitive players, we shift toward education and deeper engagement through clinics, Selkirk Pickleball TV and higher-level tech, like that found in the Selkirk mainline. And then for the enthusiasts, we bring them into the innovation process through Selkirk Labs, where they can see and even test the next generation of equipment. Instead of a one-size-fits-all strategy, we’re building an ecosystem where players can find the gear, content, and community that fuel their passion for the sport, no matter their playing level.
SGB: Can you talk about Bluestone Equity Partners’ investment and how the funds will be used?
Mike Barnes: That investment, which technically was $20 million into the company at a $170 million valuation, reflects the infrastructure and brand we’ve built over the past decade. The capital is being used to help transform Selkirk from a U.S. leader into a truly global sports brand. A big portion is going toward international expansion, particularly across Southeast Asia. We’re also continuing to invest heavily in R&D for paddles and footwear. Another focus is strengthening our omnichannel presence by expanding retail partnerships, such as with Costco, while also growing our direct-to-consumer capabilities internationally. And finally, we’re investing in adjacent categories like apparel, balls, and services — such as Selkirk Academy and online education — to build a full ecosystem around the sport.
SGB: What are some key initiatives or goals that Selkirk Sport has for 2026?
Rob Barnes: Our goal for 2026 is pretty straightforward. We want Selkirk to be the brand that defines the sport globally. That means continuing to push innovation in equipment and footwear, building out standardized coaching and clinics through our academy programs and expanding the content side of the sport through our media platforms. Ultimately, we’re trying to help build the infrastructure that allows pickleball to scale worldwide. We want to serve every pickleball player, whether they’re picking up a paddle for the first time or standing on a professional podium.
Images courtesy Selkirk Sports
