Pickleball by the Numbers

Players, courts, and gear sales all rising in northern Michigan

By Ellen Miller | Sept. 7, 2024

​​Whether you play, know a dinking buddy, or have just heard the distinctive pop-swoosh of a pickleball paddle connecting with a ball, you know: pickleball is the hottest sport of the moment. While pickleball has been around Traverse City since 1985, it has exploded in popularity in the last five years as more and more folks pick up a paddle for the first time.

The New National Pastime

Pickleball took off in popularity during the pandemic. But it got its start much earlier, in 1965, when congressman Joel Pritchard, businessman Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum crafted rules for the sport. Pritchard and Bell had returned from a trip to bored families and created a new game with the tools they had on hand: an abandoned badminton court, ping-pong paddles, and a perforated plastic ball.

By 1990, pickleball was being played in all 50 states. In 2005, 40 years after its creation, the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) was established. As of January 2024, USAPA had 78,766 members.

As the sport’s governing body, USAPA sanctioned 195 tournaments in 2023, including the 2023 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championship, which hosted 3,500 registered players and 50,000 attendees, plus the over 2.6 million TV viewers on ESPN, Tennis Channel, and PickleballTV.

By the end of 2023, 11,864 courts were available across the country for avid pickleball fans according to USAPA. Michigan currently ranks eighth in the nation in terms of pickleball places to play, and sixth in terms of courts overall, with 1,625 courts across the state.

Pickleball in Traverse City

Here in Traverse City, the sport arrived in 1985, when a group of members from Grand Traverse Yacht Club spotted the game being played at Torch Lake and convinced the club to build a dedicated pickleball court.

For a long time, though, pickleball was an underground sport, played in parking lots, gyms…anywhere players could find space. It wasn’t until 2014 that the Traverse Area Pickleball Association (TAPA) was founded.

Ten years later, TAPA now boasts 165 paid members, up from only 70 or so members two years ago. Membership in TAPA costs $25 for the year, and co-presidents Matt Haberichter and Justin Ronayne, who joined the leadership team last year, have a goal of reaching 200 members.

In addition to TAPA’s official members, their Facebook group reaches an even larger audience of 1,400 players, and an app that coordinates play downtown has 400 members.

Like the USAPA, TAPA is investing in bringing people to the sport and creating competition opportunities for local players. Last year they hosted two small indoor tournaments, but this summer, they partnered with the National Cherry Festival to run the festival’s pickleball tournament. TAPA’s tentpole event is the Great Lakes Open—2024 marked the 12th annual tournament—and in the past two years, 165 players have competed.

TAPA also hosted a free 1.5-hour youth clinic this summer with about 30 youth participants. This is no longer an “old guy” sport—at one point during TAPA’s winter tournament, a 13-year-old was playing with a 30-something-year-old family friend against a 50-year-old woman and a 75-year-old mom.

“The biggest thing about pickleball is its accessibility. You can take somebody off the street with a little athletic ability and within a half hour, you are playing and having fun,” says Ronayne. “You can be average and have the time of your life. You can get people having a good time and exercising fairly quickly.”

Because pickleball is a relatively easy sport to jump into, it creates a sense of community that aligns with Traverse City’s small-town spirit. Ronayne says he’s lived in the area 15 years and “had a good network of people through hockey, my wife, Interlochen,” but that pickleball connected him to the community in a whole new way.

“I have met so many amazing people from all walks of life in the community. I’ve gone from a 1.5 degree of separation in TC to 1 degree,” he jokes.

Looking the Part

With the rise in the sport’s popularity, new businesses built around pickleball have popped up across the country—and even here in northern Michigan. The clothes may look and feel a lot like tennis gear, but the paddles, balls, and nets (and optional safety glasses) are unique to the sport.

“You definitely want to have your own equipment: a paddle, good shoes. Everyone should have balls on them. You don’t want to be the person that shows up with no balls!” emphasizes Dane Fosgard, the owner of TC Tennis & Pickleball.

Fosgard has seen firsthand the jump in demand for pickleball products. When TC Tennis & Pickleball opened in June of 2021, they only carried a few pickleball paddles in their first year. In fact, the business was originally called TC Tennis Racquet Service & Equipment and changed its name to include pickleball in February 2024.

Fittingly, pickleball has grown from being 5 percent of the store’s business to 40 percent.

“A lot of people think pickleball is taking over, but I think it’s a good thing for everyone. It helps bring community members together, socialize, and it’s great for our local economy,” says Fosgard.

He stocks everything players need at TC Tennis & Pickleball, from paddles to shoes. (Pro tip: While new players might think that they can jump onto the court with just a paddle, Fosgard advises getting court-specific shoes that will provide lateral support, something that standard running shoes lack.)

Fosgard estimates the store has sold 75-100 paddles this summer, when, like many local businesses, they see an uptick in sales. When it comes to paddles, TC Tennis & Pickleball’s range from $60-260. Fosgard points out “you get what you pay for” and that there is a noticeable quality difference depending on price.

“I recommend investing in a good paddle so you can play to the best of your ability,” he says.

If you’re cautious about forking over your money before you know whether pickleball is for you, TC Tennis & Pickleball also has a demo program where players can check out paddles: for only $10 per paddle per week you can try before you buy, with up to $20 in credit if you ultimately decide to purchase your own.

Have Paddle, Will Travel

Luckily for pickleball enthusiasts, outdoor courts abound in the summer. There are 44 dedicated outdoor courts in Traverse City, plus four lined tennis courts…and, we’re sure, plenty of private courts or other creative places to play.

However, in the winter (or the rain), there are only 14 indoor courts available in town. “People play mostly at the old YMCA in the winter, but it’s in need of a lot of work,” says Haberichter. “At a recent tournament we hosted there was rain, and there were puddles and leaks all over the place. In the winter, sometimes over 100 people play. We need more facilities.”

One newer facility trying to meet the need for indoor pickleball is Pickle U, located in Williamsburg. Pickle U has eight indoor pickleball courts, open to reserve 14 days in advance. And as reported by sister publication The Ticker, new indoor courts could be coming to the Cherryland Center property as part of new tenant 24/7 Golf’s facility.

At the end of the day, keeping pickleball accessible—and the funding for new courts—is everyone’s responsibility. “We put playgrounds and dog parks in, but pickleball wants courts, and they say we [players] have to pay for them. There can be upwards of 100 to 150 people playing on a daily basis. Communities should embrace that and provide courts for pickleball,” says Haberichter.