Pickleball 101 Learn the Game: Business is Booming
The verdict is in from pickleball courts everywhere that the game is no longer just a quirky little weekend pastime played for exercise and fun. Pickleballers are playing for “pay” in global and national leagues, and the game is paying commercial dividends for investors.
Television contracts, big business, corporate, and celebrity owners like Tom Brady, LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes have jumped on the bandwagon as the little backyard game invented near Seattle in the 1960s by a couple of dads looking to occupy their kids on summer days has gone big time.
Avalon and the Seven Mile Beach community will host the Association of Pickleball Professionals New Jersey Classic tour event Sept. 6-10, the week following the end of the summer season. The event is expected to generate close to $1 million in direct and indirect economic benefits for real estate rentals, restaurants, and other businesses.
According to a report by Pickleball Central, the largest pickleball retailer in the U.S., sales of equipment was up more than 30% over the last year. The Selkirk company is on track to sell more than a million paddles by the end of 2023. The company has tripled in size since 2020.
The Association of Pickleball Professionals estimates there are 36.5 million players in the United States and the pickleball paddle market size was estimated to be about $152.8 million in 2021 and forecast to grow at a rate of 7.7% over the next five years.
Locally, the sport attracted investors and business owners who have added full lines of pickleball equipment to their sporting goods departments, and others who have built indoor pickleball complexes that draw thousands of players at all levels. Mall store vacancies are being filled by indoor courts.
Andrew Pessano, who grew up around his family’s variety store in Ocean City, has turned his love of the game into several ventures, including sales through Landing Creek Pickleball, instruction, and court rentals at his Proshot Pickleball complex in Egg Harbor Township. Pessano offers a full line of equipment at Pessano Variety in Ocean City and the venue in Egg Harbor.
“I started playing about eight years ago and developed a passion for the sport, so it was a natural transition to include sales of equipment in our stores,” says Pessano, an instructor who has a 5.0 skill rating (players are rated from 1.0 for beginners to 5.5 for top-caliber players). “I started with a small section in our stores and that expanded into larger walls until we now feature several brands of paddles and accessories. We have an internet presence but many of our customers love buying in person.”
Pessano said the recent growth of the game before and during the COVID years inspired the idea of an indoor facility dedicated to pickleball.
Opened in February 2023, Proshot Pickleball (playproshot.com) features eight fenced courts for different types of play for members and nonmembers. There are regularly scheduled open plays designated for beginners, intermediate and advanced players, who may play with partners for up to 2½ hours. Private court rentals are also available.
“I love the game and had a vision for an indoor facility where I could expand my business,” he says. “I told family and friends, and the reaction wasn’t very positive at first, but I made the move and it has been very successful so far. We had two strong months in [February and March]. Warmer weather gets players outdoors, so we offer lessons, rotating play, and other activities.”
Pessano has also seen the game change as expert players “invent” new ways to play the once-simple game.
“When I started watching the early professional tournaments, the game was basic compared to the play we see now,” he said. “The athletes are refining the nuances and skills. The shot making and the way singles and doubles are played keeps evolving. I think the pro game inspires all players to find ways to improve their game.”
The professional game has grown to where league expansion franchises in the Major League Pickleball cost $1 million in 2023 and Professional Pickleball Association players make upwards of $50,000 to $100,000 a year depending on prize money and sponsorships.
The New Jersey 5s were formed in 2022 by Gary Vaynerchuk and Ryan Harwood. Vaynerchuk grew up in Edison and had a lifelong dream to own a sports franchise. Harwood, is a former University of Pennsylvania tennis player, and took a quick liking to pickleball.
In today’s multimedia world, a sport has arrived when it boasts its own virtual reality game. Playin Games, an innovative new gaming company, announced the launch of its Playin Pickleball game for Meta Quest 2 in December 2022.
As the first official game launch for Playin Games, Playin Pickleball is also the first authentic reproduction of Pickleball in virtual reality. Precise software-coded physics have resulted in unparalleled gameplay. Simulations have been carefully mapped from actual Pickleball games, and the scoring, rules, and regulations are based on the 2022 rulebook from the USA Pickleball Association.
The game targets new and existing pickleball players by offering the flexibility to be played according to their skill level. Playin Pickleball was designed to give existing players access to their favorite game, even during the offseason. The game also makes it easy for VR gamers to get introduced to the sport with the inclusion of extensive tutorials and difficulty levels.
“Playin Games’ core mission is to use technologies like VR to help people stay active,” CEO Raghu Bathina states in a press release. “We are strong believers in the positive impact of exercise on mental and physical health.”
Playin Games co-founder Dr. Sridhar Prathikanti shares the same vision of helping gamers get more active in a creative way.
“Our vision is to use XR-based games to get gamers off the couch while providing existing players a new way to enjoy their sport and hone their skill to optimum levels,” he says. “Whether you are a serious pickleball player or a parent/grandparent ready to enter the world of VR and play with your children, this is for you.”
For more information, visit playinpickleball.com. Playin Pickleball can also be found on Twitter.