'Taken over my life'. Indy, suburbs invest in pickleball as younger Hoosiers begin playing

Eugene Pride had been playing basketball around the metro area for years but recently began to notice more and more courts being converted, at least some of the time, for pickleball.

The 37-year-old was curious yet suspicious of the game at first, frustrated that he and his friends had less gym time for basketball. Why was this sport with a funny name becoming so popular, he wondered. One day he decided to see what all the fanfare was about, hopping onto a court to play with people he didn't know. He loved it instantly and now plays upward of five times a week.

“It’s literally taken over my life,” he said.

Pride is just one of many Indianapolis metropolitan area residents who have picked up the paddle these last few years, a rapidly growing trend seen across the United States. Research shows pickleball is America’s fastest-growing sport, with the number of players nationally nearing 5 million as of 2022, a growth of nearly 40% from just two years prior.

In the Indy area, the story is the same. Once a game largely for retirees, many of who preferred the smaller court compared to tennis, the latest surge appears fueled by younger participants. Take Life Time, a fitness center in Castleton for example, where in just two years the pickleball program went from zero to 450 participants.

With the sport’s rise, parks departments across the city are taking notice. New facilities and courts have been built, in some cases by parks departments reluctant to invest in sports fields. Tennis courts also have been converted and more projects are in the works in the coming years.

So, what's the big deal about pickleball?

Sure, it's easier on the body than basketball or tennis. But so are other novelty sports that have made the rounds. Those who just joined and those who have played for years, though, all told IndyStar the same story: this sport has become their social life, their community.

Why has the sport grown in the Indy area?

What was once thought of as a sport purely for older generations has gravitated toward younger players. Pickleball players who spoke with the IndyStar said they have noticed a trend of younger players stepping onto the court, something not seen ten years ago.

From middle-schoolers to college students to middle-age and older adults, pickleball has made its mark in the lives of those in Indianapolis. A sport able to bridge the age gap means a broader community is established, one pickleball players appreciate.

“It’s this whole other group of people I would have never interacted with,” Pride said. “I’ve got phone numbers in my phone from people that are 70-plus years old.”

Lisa Farley, the president of Indy Pickleball Club, said this community was forged partially due to the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic. As people were seeking human connection after isolating inside and having little time for outside physical activity, pickleball gave people a way to reconnect and interact in the sun.

"The pandemic put it (the sport) in overdrive," she said.

The sport has also been championed by many here in Indianapolis, including Rick Witsken, an Indianapolis-based pickleball player who co-founded the National Pickleball League. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in singles and doubles play for those 40 and over.

Helping bring the sport to national prominence while simultaneously building a program here in Indianapolis for pickleball and tennis, known as Team Witsken, he has left a mark on the state.

“Friends, family and the social aspect and dynamic of a friendly game of pickleball is just second to none,” Witsken said. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

Rising demand for courts

As more Hoosiers become interested in pickleball, the demand for courts has increased across the region. It’s clear parks departments are listening as investments have been made to satisfy the pickleball craze.

Indy Parks now has 50 public courts in total, 15 indoors and 35 outdoors, but more are on the way. As a part of an $80 million gift from the Lilly Endowment, more pickleball courts will be installed in the next two and a half years at other Indy Parks, including at Chapel Hill Park, Graham Edward Martin Park and Tolin Akeman Park.

Ellenberger Park, an Indy area park on the west side of the city, now has two courts specifically for pickleball and 12 spaces on the tennis courts with striped lines for play — the caveat being that you must bring your own net.

Alex Cortwright, the chief communications officer for Indy Parks & Recreation, said these courts and the new striped lines became available within the last year to meet the public’s eagerness for more pickleball courts.

Indy Park’s comprehensive five-year master plan finalized in 2023 mentions pickleball as a growing trend, shifting the department’s attention toward the sport. It relied on national data showing pickleball had a growth of just over 70% from 2016 to 2021.

Other parks departments have noticed this growth too.

“We’ve definitely witnessed ever-increasing demand for pickleball,” Michael Klitzing, director and CEO of Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation, said. “We’ve really tried to respond to it.”

Last year, Carmel Clay opened a total of six new courts spread between two parks specifically for pickleball. These new courts were a portion of a $2.6 million project that included other renovations.

Most of Carmel Clay’s public parks are designed for non-sport activities, including trail-walking, playgrounds and open natural spaces to socialize. However, with the increased interest in pickleball, the department decided to install these new courts, making them some of the first sports courts the department has built outside of a few spaces for basketball, Klitzing said.

In total, Carmel Clay has 12 courts available on any given day, and the Monon Community Center also has up to six courts indoor available for pickleball.

Klitzing suspects this nationwide trend will likely bring more courts to the area in the future.

“I think this is a sport that’s here to stay,” he said.

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Brandon Bennett, the director of Noblesville Parks & Recreation, said it’s ‘tremendous’ the number of young people now playing pickleball in Noblesville.

“The demand is absolutely real,” he said.

Noblesville has eight outdoor courts, six of which are for pickleball only. Indoor courts are also available, but they are used usually only during the winter months. Bennett said the parks department is looking for ways to repurpose other existing sports courts to accommodate the growing pickleball demand. He said he has never seen a sport take off like this before.

Pickleball courts are also on the rise outside of public parks, with commercial gyms across the region converting basketball courts or adding new spaces to play. The pickleball trend has even attracted a commercial retail business in Fishers dedicated to pickleball.

Coming in 2024, Chicken N Pickle will offer pickleball and locally sourced food options. These establishments dedicated to pickleball are popping up across the country with the success of venues like Top Golf, offering food, alcohol and some friendly competition.

More than a phase

Larry Leax, at 75, understands the value of this sport.

He and a group of others in the Indy area helped to promote pickleball around 12 years ago in the state, and he said there are so many lives that are now positively impacted by this sport.

“It’s probably kept me alive,” Leax said of pickleball.

He now shares the sport with his grandchildren, one who is eight years old and the other who is 14. Setting up a makeshift court in his driveway, the 8-year-old loves to swing the paddle as hard as possible, which makes Larry laugh.

For players like Pride, who have weaved pickleball into their daily lives, the sport becomes a healthy obsession.

“When you play you just feel this burst of energy,” he said. “You want to continue trying to get better.”

He and his girlfriend often eat dinner, and once they both finish, they look at each other and immediately know the other is ready to go play pickleball.

They waste no time rushing to the court, similar to the millions of Americans who now love pickleball and have found a home on the court.

Email IndyStar reporter Nic Napier at nnapier@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: As younger Hoosiers begin playing, pickleball explodes in Indianapolis