The pickleball craze — so hot in the pandemic and immediately afterwards — may be cooling off.
The big picture: The number of pickleball courts across the 100 most populous U.S. cities increased just 4% from 2025 to 2026. That's compared to 13% growth in 2025, and 14% in 2024.
Catch up quick: Phoenix-area retirement communities were some of the earliest adopters of the popular sport.
We've got multiple professional teams, a bunch of pickleball/bar concepts and public courts with lines, even during the summer.
Yes, but: There's a new racket sport in town to tempt pickleballers. Padel combines the rules of tennis with the enclosed walled court and smaller racquet of squash.
Conquer Padel Club, the Valley's first dedicated facility for the sport, opened last year.
And earlier this year, Arizona fielded its first teams for a national amateur padel league.
What we're watching: PURE Pickleball and & Padel, which says it will be the world's largest indoor facility for the sports, is scheduled to open in Scottsdale next year.
When it was announced in 2024, they planned for 50 pickleball courts and two padel ones. They're now advertising 40 for pickleball and 8 for padel.
Developers previously told us they're prepared to convert more courts if padel continues to gain steam.
Source: https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2026/06/01/phoenix-pickleball-cools-as-padel-rises