We couldn’t go an entire TeamInsightExtra newsletter without our regular insight into the growing sport of pickleball. This issue we delve into the annual growth report provided by USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport.

The key number: Membership in the organization increased nearly 30 percent in 2022 from 2021 — to nearly 69,000 compared to 53,110 in 2021.

“The entire industry saw 2022 as an unprecedented year of growth for our sport, but having numbers to support those observations is incredibly insightful,” reports USA Pickleball CEO Stu Upson. “It is especially noteworthy to see our membership grow by almost one-third over the past year.”

Among other findings:

• There are now 44,094 pickleball courts across America, compared to 38,140 in 2021, a 15.6 percent increase.
• A total of 525 new paddles and 34 new balls were tested and approved in 2022 by the USA Pickleball Equipment and Evaluation Committee.
• Its Places2Play database grew from 9167 to 10,724 — an astounding 130 new locations per month, or more than four a day.
• USA Pickleball sanctioned 237 tournaments in 2022 compared to 153 in 2021.
• USA Pickleball awarded 72 community grants and 66 Youth/Collegiate grants, with a total allocation of $41,100. In 2021, 87 community grants and 24 high school grants were awarded, with a total allocation of $30,950;
• USA Pickleball certified 45 new referees in 2022, increasing the total number to 212.
• On the coaching side, USA Pickleball’s teaching and training partner, Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) has roughly 4300 members. In 2022, PPR conducted 202 workshops in the U.S. with 1935 workshop participants.