PIckleball's popularity with seniors is partially due to its health benefits

PIckleball is the fastest-growing participation sport in America

The outdoor game experienced a surge in popularity during the 2020 pandemic because it could be set up in driveways, be played by all ages, and allowed for safe social interactions. That social aspect has helped pickleball’s popularity continue to rise post-pandemic. A March 2023 APP report showed 48.3 million American adults played the sport in the last 12 months.

Pickleball players and tennis players are running into problems over court space

Pickleball has become one of the fastest-growing sports in North America, especially for older adults. It's also led to tension with tennis players, whose courts are now being overtaken by pickleball players, with some municipalities adding pickleball lines to tennis courts.

Pickleball's popularity has exploded in recent years

Pickleball has seen rapid growth in the US, with around 50 million Americans playing in 2022. It doesn't appear to be slowing any time soon.

Pickleball injuries were responsible for $350M in medical costs in 2023

Unsurprisingly, picklers over 50 account for 90% of the injuries, with the most common being sprains, strains, and fractures. Experts say a substantial pregame warm-up can prevent most injuries.

Pickleball's ubiquity has led to a culture clash with tennis

Since the late 1800s, tennis has been the world’s premier racquet sport. But in the late 2010s, rapid growth and investment in Pickleball changed that dynamic. This Cult Tennis video explores the newly created tension between tennis and Pickleball players, both on and off the courts.

Pickleball was originally intended for children

Bell and Pritchard only created the game to occupy their children's attention on vacation. As they continued playing the game, they began developing rules as-needed.

Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis

In this video, That Pickleball Guy walks you through the serve and two-bounce rules, what is “the kitchen,” and teaches five ways to win a rally.

Pickleball's popularity has created a power struggle

The sport's sudden rise has led to a tumultuous landscape with battles over governance, court space, and player rights. This Sports Illustrated deep dive examines the competing billionaires vying for control, the conflicts over court usage and noise disputes, and how a second proposed Hall of Fame is dividing the sport.

The origin of the sport's name is disputed

How pickleball got its name has been a point of contention for decades. The McCallums claim the family dog, Pickles, used to snatch the balls as they played and named it for him. Joan Pritchard, though, says Pickles didn’t join the family until after the game was invented.

The pickleball market is expected to hit $4.4B by 2033

In 2023, the global pickleball market was $1.5B. By 2023, it's expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 11.3%.

One Connecticut prison is using pickleball for rehabilitation

The Pickleball for Incarcerated Communities League started in 2023 at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Hartford, Connecticut, but has already expanded to other facilities across the state. Inmates say it's been transformative. The program has plans to expand to other states.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington

Bill Bell and then-Washington State congressman Joel Pritchard created the game as a way to entertain their bored children. They grabbed items they had on hand, using ping pong paddles to hit a wiffle ball over a hip-height badminton net.

Carmel, California, is looking into banning pickleball

Pickleball is the fastest-rising sport in the US, but it's not without its controversies. Chief among them is noise, which Carmel, California, a wealthy enclave on the state's central coast, seeks to remedy with a ban on the sport. It would be the first in the state.

Limited courts is a source of tension between pickleball and tennis players

Municipalities have rushed to accommodate the explosion of pickleball games, but sometimes they can't keep up. That's frustrated tennis players, whose courts are now often filled with people playing the sport.

Pickleballs' loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, equivalent to the sound of a hammer striking a nail.

A Boeing engineer created a next-generation pickleball paddle in the '80s

When Steve Paranto kept losing in the finals of his Pickleball tournaments, he told his dad Arlen the wooden paddles were holding him back. Then-Boeing engineer Arlen used spare composite floor panels to make the first fiberglass Pickleball paddle.

A Texas billionaire created the first team-focused pickleball league

Steve Kuhn is on a mission to make pickleball the next big global sport, starting with Major League Pickleball, his team-focused pickleball league. He's turned his property, named Dreamland, into an expansive center for the sport.

Yoga can be beneficial for aging practitioners

Studies suggest that yoga can help alleviate several diseases associated with aging by lowering blood pressure, reducing blood fat levels, and combating obesity. It has also been shown to increase telomerase activity, which helps slow cell aging.

Why professional tennis players are so picky about balls before serving

Just as swimmers shave their bodies before competitions to swim faster, experiments show that tighter, less fluffy balls experience less drag forces when moving through the air and thus produce faster serves at the cost of less control. Players may select a fuzzier ball in scenarios that call for safer, more cautious play.

Brain training game creates long-lasting changes in the brain that may help protect against dementia.

Explaining the rise in adult sports leagues

Community sports leagues shifted from publicly supported entities to privatized ones in the 1990s, as tech advances streamlined registration processes. Millennial interest drove significant growth in social sports leagues for adults, growing much faster than other kinds of sports. A few industry leaders have benefited from this shift.

Doctors are prescribing social activities—and seeing good results

Physicians, especially in the UK, are asking patients what they enjoy and then prescribing a consistent regimen of doing that type of activity to improve fitness and overall health, including community exercise classes, volunteering, and spending time in nature. This approach may provide better incentives to stick with an activity.

Two 100-year-old sisters share their tips for staying mentally sharp

Shirley Hodes, 106, and her sister Ruth Sweedler, 103, don’t routinely do crossword puzzles, but both have stayed sharp as they aged. Though they live states apart, they share similar advice for maintaining mental acuity. They sum up their strategies for cognitive health with four verbs: work, connect, learn, and appreciate. Read this article to learn more about their approach to staying 100-plus years young.

Retired professional soccer players are showing signs of potential neurological impacts in midlife, according to a study presented at the July 2026 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London.

Table tennis originated as a leisure activity for the upper class

The sport's origin story can be traced back to 19th-century England, where it was known as "whiff-whaff." Players initially used a dinner table to play. After decades of evolution, ping-pong reached its "Golden Age" of popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.

Bowling was long male-dominated, but women pushed for change through the sport

The sport was often played on lawns attached to breweries and became a leisure activity for folks in taverns—mostly men, in the 1800s. But the game's highly communal nature attracted a more diverse set of participants who pushed for social change.

Why pickles became a thing

Pickles began in Mesopotamia around 2400 BCE as a way to preserve vegetables amid heat (and spoilage). They spread through Egypt, Greece, and Rome, where Julius Caesar reportedly fed pickles to his soldiers, and brining was treated as a culinary art. The technique is broadly useful, as salt and water can extend the shelf life and deepen flavor for almost anything.

Super-agers: seniors 80 and above with the memory ability of people in their 50s

Studies show the number one indicator of whether someone is a "super-ager" is not diet or genetics, but the extent of their social relationships. Moreover, scans reveal noticeable physical differences in certain parts of the brain in patients with extensive social networks.

The origins of volleyball in a game called mintonette

Volleyball was invented in 1895 in Massachusetts, USA, by William G. Morgan of the YMCA. He aimed to create a less strenuous alternative to basketball, using elements from basketball, tennis, handball, and baseball. Originally called "mintonette," it was introduced at a YMCA conference and took off. Dive into the history from then until today here.

Athletes in Mexico are reviving a 3,000-year-old sacred sport

A modern team is working to revive Juego de Pelota, an ancient Mesoamerican team sport played by the Maya, Aztecs, and neighboring cultures. Once central to ritual and community life, the game was outlawed by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

Offering support to others linked to cognitive and physical health improvements

The Baltimore Experience Corps Trial, which was a large study evaluating the health benefits of volunteering among older adults, concluded that seniors spending about 15 hours weekly offering kids tutoring and mentoring was associated with improvements including better memory and increased mobility and strength.

Berenson's frailty led her to basketball

When Senda Berenson tried to study piano at school, she realized she was too frail. In 1890, she dropped piano and enrolled in the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics to increase her strength, which led her to a career in physical education.

Fourteen ways to make baseball cool again

Baseball, while commonly known as America's pastime, gets a bit of a bad rap for being long, slow, and boring. Here are fourteen fun ideas to make the sport more interesting to combat dwindling attendance.

The formula behind super agers—those possessing health and cognitive skills of people decades younger

A study of about 1,400 super agers did not identify any underlying genetic mechanism for longevity. While researchers instead emphasized that sustainable habits involving positive social connections, sleep, mood, diet, exercise, and personal fulfillment help reduce long-term risks, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for everyone.

The board game Candy Land was invented for children quarantined in polio wards.

Developing adaptable brain-body systems lets athletes thrive beyond 30

Success in high-level sports after age 30 relies on physical fitness and building brain resilience through deliberate training, recovery, and stress regulation. This creates a feedback loop where body and mind reinforce each other.

Roughly 10% of the world's population is older than 65 (2023 data)

With recent advances in medicine, sanitation, and nutrition, expected lifespans have rapidly risen around the globe—resulting in a rapidly aging global population. The worldwide distribution has seen a nearly 600% jump in the population of people aged 65 and older.

Diving boards disappeared out of safety, but they don't cause most diving accidents

Bouncy diving boards were widely adopted in backyard and community pools in the 1960s. Reports identifying diving as the primary cause of sports-related spinal accidents exaggerated the role diving boards played (most diving injuries were in lakes, beaches, and rivers) and gave insurers a basis to reduce coverage.

How Peloton got moms hooked

Peloton's at-home workout classes were a game-changer for parents, giving them a chance to squeeze a workout in without leaving the house. The community group feature on Peloton created a sense of community that made users incredibly loyal to the brand.

Perceived isolation ages you

Mounting evidence suggests that socialization is a vital component of maintaining good health. Research published in 2024 from Mayo Clinic researchers analyzed the social lives of more than 280,000 adults and concluded that individuals that weren't likely to participate in extracurricular social activities and get-togethers were more likely to have a biological age older than their actual age—meaning that you may be 60 but health indicators would suggest you're older.

The health benefits of matcha tea

Matcha tea has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. Very likely due to its bright green color, which is conducive to social media post aesthetics. The tea is a powdered form of green tea, and its benefits are touted everywhere. This article examines the evidence for such health claims, finding the tea's key nutrients of theanine, chlorophyll, and caffeine did have small observable effects on study participants. Learn more here.

Resistance training can help fight osteoporosis, especially in menopausal women.

Moving your body every day is key to longevity

In an era of biohacking, where millionaires subject themselves to draconian routines and tests to de-age themselves, one study suggests a super simple key predictor of mortality: more than any other trait, how much subjects moved determined how long they'd live. Movement mattered even more than age in predicting overall life longevity. Researchers suggest this means we should all simply get outside a bit more. Read more about the study here.

Board games can improve life satisfaction and coping self-efficacy

They provide distraction, foster self-determination, and promote personal transformation. Purposeful engagement with games builds the capacity to face real-life problems.

Interest in the X Games is growing fast among younger teens

The 2025 X Games Salt Lake City delivered double-digit viewership growth—up 12% across ESPN platforms from 2024—with a 328% surge among 12- to 17-year-olds.

Mental health experts caution against youth sports betting

People in their early 20s represent the fastest-growing group of sports gamblers. That fact concerns mental health professionals, who warn that early exposure to gaming primes children’s brains to seek digital rewards.

Tennis balls are yellow, partly thanks to a suggestion by British naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.

The Presidential Fitness Test, designed to measure and promote schoolchildren's health, has returned to schools under the Trump administration after it had been retired by the Obama administration in 2012.

Some athletes warm up with equipment from other sports

Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani uses a cricket bat; his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws a javelin. Quarterback CJ Stroud shoots free throws. The reasons are partially physical (it's good to exercise different parts of your body) and partially mental (it's nice to take the pressure off with someone else's game).

The fitness industry has seen a lot of fads—and Peloton might be one of them

Like SoulCycle and Tae Bo, Peloton has struggled to stay at the forefront of the fitness industry. Despite periods of incredibly high interest and high-profile users (like the Obamas), Peloton has lost many users since the pandemic ended—and has struggled to add more. (Some users may experience a paywall.)