Produced by SFIA and DUPR
The 2025 Pickleball Market Playbook is a new collaboration between SFIA and DUPR, created to deliver clear, data-driven insights into one of America’s fastest-growing sports.
The findings capture the habits of core players, offering a focused look at the sport’s most dedicated community.
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• Inaugural report on consumer spending, gear preferences, and play habits.
• Data reflects “avid” or “core” players, not the entire market.
• Over 90% of respondents play at least twice a week and 48% want to increase their play frequency.
• Health is the primary driver: Nearly 94% cite physical benefits as a key reason for playing.
• Other major motivators include the joy of the game and competition.
• >90% of these core players plan to maintain or increase their equipment spending in the next year.
• Players point to court overcrowding, scheduling conflicts, and lack of similar-skill opponents as key barriers to play.
• 44.4% of players report overcrowded courts.
• 39.2% of pickleball players report struggling to find opponents of similar skill to play with, underscoring the importance of accurate ratings and level-based play
• 31.9% face scheduling conflicts with other players.
• Report provides first-ever industry data on gear usage (paddles, balls, shoes).
• Insights cover where players buy equipment and the factors influencing their decisions.
• Key purchasing factors include: performance, durability, price, and brand reputation.
• Among those who reported their annual expenses, the highest individual cost was facility fees, averaging $913 per year. Other commonly reported expenses included lessons ($688), tournament fees ($517), and equipment – such as paddles, balls, and shoes – which exceeded $600 annually.
on Paddles
on Court Shoes
on Balls
on Facility Fees
on Lessons
on Tournament Entries
on League Fees
Core players fuel pickleball’s growth, investing more time, energy, and money than any other group. Their choices shape market trends, product innovation, and community engagement.
This report offers a first-ever deep look into how they spend, play, and think about the game.
Full findings, detailed charts, and market analysis available Thursday.
