Pickleball gaining popularity nationwide, including in East Texas

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – With almost 12,000 locations with courts nationwide, the popularity of the tennis-like game of pickleball has been on the rise for the past several years.

According to data from USA Pickleball, over 1,000 locations were added across the country in 2023. Texas has 522 locations, giving it the third most, just behind California and Florida.

A large part of the popularity, say players, is the simplicity of the game.

“You can bring your friends out here they’ll be picking it up really easy, you can get the friend group out here it’s a lot of fun,” said Erick Zammaron, a junior at UT Tyler who was enjoying a game with his friends at Pollard Park.

The park now has six courts, part of a $700,000 renovation that was recently completed. Tyler Parks and Recreation Director Leanne Robinette said that public input was a large factor in adding the courts. The city hopes to hold sanctioned tournaments in the future.

“We found out that if you have eight pickleball courts you can have sanctioned tournaments, so we decided to go with eight instead of the original six,” said Robinette.

The game is played by a wide range of age groups, another reason for its popularity.

“It’s all age ranges; you see the elderly, you see little kids, and yesterday it was full. Everyone was here,” said Zammaron.

Robinette said many players enjoy it as an alternative to tennis.

“People that were tennis lovers that can’t play tennis anymore for whatever reason have really decided to pick up pickleball, and, you know, try to keep them healthy. It’s a growing sport and they love it.”

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