Your grandma was right: Why everyone’s suddenly playing pickleball

“Most people say, ‘My grandma told me to come,’ or ‘My parents told me to come out and try it,'” said Amy Klassen, Saskatchewan’s ambassador for Pickleball Canada. “And then they’re like, ‘I got addicted to it.'”

If there’s one universal pickleball story, that’s probably it.

Someone gets talked into trying it and shows up expecting a leisurely game for retirees. A few hours later, they leave wondering where to buy a paddle.

Read more Saskatchewan Stories from Brittany Caffet:

• Smiling through suffocation: Staying afloat as a Saskatoon Aqualene
• Preserving the game: The Saskatoon Soccer Legacy project
• Hidden talents of the Saskatchewan Roughriders revealed

Klassen admits she once bought into the stereotype herself.

“I think it definitely has a stigma that it’s, like, for older people,” she said.

When she first started playing in Saskatoon, she joined a club where most games happened during the day. The courts were filled with retirees.

“If I saw someone even remotely my age — under 60 — I was like, ‘Oh, hi!'” she said with a laugh.

These days, the pickleball scene is a very different picture.

While there are a handful of outdoor courts and pickleball facilities like TopZpin, Klassen said there is a dire need for more space to play in Saskatoon. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

More and more younger adults are showing up. So are families and people who just want a fun way to get moving after work.

So what exactly is it about pickleball that’s winning people over?

If you’ve somehow avoided learning about the trending sport until now, think of it as a mashup of tennis, badminton and ping-pong.

Listen to the story on Behind the Headlines:

In fact, that’s how it got its name.

Klassen said one of the wives of the three men who invented the sport in the 1960s thought the game resembled a “pickle boat” — a rowing crew made up of athletes from different teams — because it borrowed elements from several other sports.

Unlike many other athletic endeavours, getting started doesn’t require much.

“All you really need is a paddle and a wiffle ball,” Klassen said, noting beginner paddles are now easy to find almost anywhere.

Klassen explained that a pickleball court is roughly half the size of a tennis court. The smaller surface area makes it a more accessible sport for people of all ages and abilities. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

And while the game is a workout, it’s not nearly as taxing as a full game of tennis.

“It’s half the size of a tennis court and you’re generally playing doubles, so you’re only covering your little section of the court,” Klassen said.

She explained that accessibility is a big part of the appeal for people of all ages.

“I think if you want to get out and be active again, or just at all, it’s a great way to do that,” Klassen said. “It can be easier on the body.”

But if you ask her why people stick with pickleball, she doesn’t start with the ins and outs of the game. She starts with the people.

“Everyone’s super welcoming, super nice,” she said. “Doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing a day or 10 years. People are like, ‘Yes, come play!'”

And while some people are ruthless on the court, there is always space for players who are just looking for a bit of fun.

“There’s definitely the competitiveness if you want it,” Klassen said. “But there’s tons of people that are just here for a good time and laughing and joking.”

Think pickleball is just for retirees? Think again. Ahead of National Pickleball Day, Saskatchewan ambassador Amy Klassen explains why people are rallying behind this fast-growing sport. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

If you’re wondering whether pickleball is just the latest recreational fad, Klassen points to the courts. Show up at the outdoor pickleball courts at Saskatoon’s Father Basil Markle Park on a beautiful summer evening and you’ll probably have to wait. Every court is full.

Players finish a game, step off, drop their ball into the queue and wait for the next opening. Klassen said on busy nights, that wait can stretch to 20 minutes or more.

“We would love to see the city put in more outdoor pickleball courts,” she noted.

That’s not the sign of a sport that’s fading away.

Pickleball has been around for more than 60 years. What’s changed isn’t the game. It’s the number of people discovering it.

And if Klassen’s experience is any indication, many of them have someone persistent in their lives to thank.

As per usual, Grandma was right.