Pickleball Isn’t a Sport. It’s a Marketing Category—and That Might Be Its Undoing

Framing The Conversation​

Here’s something I’ve been thinking about lately:
Pickleball isn’t India’s next big sport. It’s India’s next big illusion.

Now before any die-hard pickleball fans raise their paddles in protest—this isn’t about dismissing the game itself. I just think we’ve confused virality with validity. And if that sounds harsh, let’s connect some dots.

And no, this isn’t some dramatic takedown of the game or the people who love it. I’m not here to mock the paddle or the players. It’s just that over the past year, I’ve started noticing how the sport’s rise feels more marketed than earned. Over the last year, I’ve watched pickleball go from “what is this weird mini-tennis thing?” to “why does every third fitness influencer suddenly swear by it?”. Courts are cropping up in luxury apartments. Bollywood celebs are ‘spontaneously’ picking up paddles for lifestyle shoots. And over the past few months, you’ve probably been hit with a reel titled: ‘This Sport Changed My Life.’

Let’s be real. The sport didn’t change your life. The content calendar did.

Pickleball, as it stands in India right now, is less a sport and more a marketing category—designed for camera angles, brand integrations, and that sweet sweet “community wellness” vibe we all pretend we’re not addicted to.
And you know what? That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But here’s where it gets dicey:

If the marketing engine shuts down tomorrow… Does the movement survive?

Because unlike cricket, kabaddi, or even badminton—pickleball hasn’t earned its place through play.
It’s earned through positioning.

And the numbers back this up (don’t worry, I brought stats—because opinions without data are just vibes).

In this post, I’m going to lay out three reasons why pickleball might not be India’s next big sport—and why that might be its undoing. This isn’t a takedown. It’s a cautionary breakdown. (Not trying to rap here I just think the hype will drown-wait) And if you’re a guy under 25 trying to figure out whether this thing is legit or just the sports version of açaí bowls—this one’s for you.

Let’s dig in.

Pickleball’s Rise Is More About Optics Than Athletics

Let’s get this straight—pickleball isn’t some underground discovery India just stumbled upon.
It’s been around since 1965, born on a suburban American driveway, combining elements of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. It only started to feel new once it got rebranded, filtered through lifestyle marketing, and dropped into our social feeds in the post-pandemic wellness boom.

In India, the surge really began around 2022–23, but not through school sports programs or national tournaments. It started with reels. And it spread with endorsements.

  • Kareena Kapoor volleyed into the spotlight with PUMA’s 2023 “Fit is Fun” campaign—paddle in hand, athleisure on point.
  • The RCB cricket team was pictured playing during the 2025 IPL season posted videos about their team playing Pickleball when rain halted play. Even though this was for a promotional shoot, paddles were in hand and smiles all around.

But here’s where the shine starts to wear off—actual player numbers remain microscopic.

According to the Indian Pickleball Association, India had just 28,000 active registered players across 19 states as of late 2024.
By contrast:

  • Cricket: 90+ million regular players, formal and informal combined (KPMG Sports Landscape Study, 2023)
  • Badminton: ~15 million hobby players, with growing rural and urban infrastructure
  • Kabaddi: Over 80,000 school-level participants under the Khelo India scheme, and broadcast viewership in the tens of millions

So if nobody’s actually playing, why is everyone talking about it?

The answer: positioning over participation.

Pickleball is being installed, not adopted.
You’ll find it in:

  • Private gyms in Gurgaon’s DLF Phase 5
  • Rooftop courts at premium co-living spaces in Bangalore
  • Retreat resorts in Alibaug and Goa
  • Startup offices in Lower Parel, Mumbai (“team-building meets tech-bro wellness”)

But what you won’t find is pickleball in municipal parks, public schools, or government sports funding reports.

In other words, this isn’t a movement rising from courtside hustle or mass demand—it’s being engineered through aesthetic engineering.

Think about it: no dust, no sweating it out in the sun, no power-hitting or bruises. It’s low-impact, easy to film, fun to caption, and lets you wear pastel coordinates while pretending you’re in a Nike ad.
In marketing terms, it’s UX-optimized for Instagram stories.

We’re not watching India fall in love with a sport.
We’re watching it fall in love with the idea of being seen playing one.

And that’s where things get tricky. Because sports built on identity last.
Sports built on image don’t.

It’s Instagrammable, Not Infrastructural

Here’s a truth that doesn’t get enough airtime:
Sports that survive the hype cycle aren’t built on aesthetics. They’re built on access.

Look at the sports India actually plays—not just streams or scrolls through. Kabaddi is still going strong not because it’s glamorous, but because you only need an open patch of land and a little courage. Badminton? You’ll find local halls in nearly every tier-2 city, each one packed during peak hours. Even football—despite its rocky commercial arc—has school-level tournaments and turf grounds sprouting faster than bubble tea joints in urban India.

Now let’s contrast that with pickleball.
Try finding a public court in your city. Seriously—Google it. What you’ll mostly get is:

  • Rooftop spaces in gated societies
  • Boutique resorts in Goa with “wellness programming”
  • Fitness clubs in South Delhi and Bandra with booking apps and velvet rope energy

According to the FICCI Sports Infrastructure Report (2024), less than 0.5% of Indian schools and colleges offer access to a pickleball court. Even at the state or district level, fewer than 10 districts have functioning local pickleball federations.

That’s not a rollout. That’s a rollout filtered by income bracket.

And when you gatekeep a sport behind membership cards, lifestyle pricing, and pastel moodboards, what you’re really doing is building a status symbol, not a sports ecosystem.

Because the truth is, you don’t grow a sport by curating it—you grow it by handing kids a racket and giving them a place to play.

But pickleball hasn’t entered schools, colleges, or state-run training programs. It hasn’t shown up in Khelo India schemes or grassroots initiatives. It isn’t on the radar for rural youth, district PE teachers, or even most fitness-conscious college students.
Instead, it’s living in a curated bubble—boosted by reels, hashtags, and brand activations.

And that’s where the long-term risk lies.

Infrastructural sports are sustainable because they embed themselves into everyday life.
Instagrammable sports fade once they stop being interesting to watch or cool to post.

Pickleball may look like a lifestyle revolution—but without serious public infrastructure, coaching systems, or regional-level tournaments, it’s closer to a wellness accessory than a generational movement.

The sports that stick around are the ones you grow up playing barefoot on gravel, not the ones you discover after your Pilates class.

The Risk of Being a Passing Fad

Pickleball’s story right now reads a lot like a typical wellness startup launch: flashy debut, influencer buzz, aesthetic packaging… and a lot of FOMO-driven curiosity.

But here’s the catch: sports that explode too quickly often evaporate just as fast—especially if they never anchor themselves to a real community.

We’ve seen this before.

  • CrossFit had its cult-like moment in 2012–13. India had gyms cropping up in metros, but when it failed to scale beyond elite circles and got tangled in injury risks and brand dilution, the hype thinned out.
  • Zumba was once positioned as the future of fitness classes. But how many people do you know still Zumba regularly in 2025?
  • Ultimate Frisbee had startup energy, collegiate appeal, and even international representation—yet never found a real ecosystem here. It’s now niche at best.

Pickleball, despite the buzz, risks joining this same club.

A 2024 YouGov India survey on emerging sports showed that only 4% of men aged 18–24—your average Gen-Z urban athlete—said they would “regularly play pickleball” over the next year. That’s painfully low compared to 37% for cricket and 19% for football, both of which have cultural roots, aspirational icons, and a built-in sense of community (YouGov India, May 2024).

This isn’t just a preference stat. It signals that pickleball isn’t resonating with the demographic that defines long-term sporting relevance—young people with time, interest, and influence.

And the brand side? Same story.
According to Brand Equity India (March 2024), fewer than 2% of sports-focused brands in India have signed multi-year deals or scalable investments with pickleball communities. Most of the campaigns are one-offs—content plays, pop-ups, or short-term collabs with wellness startups. The vibe is more “brand trial” than “brand belief.”

That’s a red flag.

Because brands follow culture—but only if the culture sticks.

And when the foundation is influencer campaigns and aesthetic appeal rather than real participation, the moment the cultural wind shifts, the marketing budget shifts with it.

You’ve probably seen it already—fitness influencers who played pickleball in early 2024 now posting about animal flow, kettlebell HIIT, or cold plunge therapy. It’s not shade. It’s just the algorithm economy. And it doesn’t reward consistency—it rewards novelty.

So what happens when pickleball stops being novel?
Who plays it when it’s no longer a trending sound or a brand-funded reel?

Without institutional support (federations, leagues, school/college tournaments), and without grassroots evangelists (players, not just promoters), pickleball risks becoming a curated pastime that looks good on camera but never truly lives off-screen.

Because for any sport to last in India—or anywhere—it has to survive the moment when it’s no longer cool.

And that’s the moment pickleball hasn’t reached yet.
But it’s coming.

Here’s the Case For Pickleball
(Even If I’m Not Fully Sold)

Okay, let’s attempt to play devil’s advocate here.
Not every shiny new trend flames out.

Some things that start as fads do go on to build real, lasting cultural value. Yoga was once a niche spiritual practice.
Esports? A literal punchline a decade ago.
Both now sit on billion-dollar ecosystems backed by serious institutions.

So yeah—it’s not impossible that pickleball, despite its influencer glow-up and upscale rollout, might just be more than a passing phase.

For starters, it’s incredibly easy to play.
You don’t need years of coaching, expensive rackets, or a pro-level fitness threshold.
The court is smaller than tennis, the rules are simple, and the gameplay is forgiving—especially for people who’ve never felt fully “athletic.”

In a time where most young people want movement without pressure, pickleball offers low-stakes, high-social activity that feels more fun than performance-driven.

And socially? It checks a lot of boxes.
It’s built for doubles, designed for interaction, and thrives in casual formats.
You’re not grinding alone on a treadmill. You’re rallying with friends, laughing between points, and getting in some movement while staying connected. That matters.

Plus, it’s one of the rare sports where age and gender don’t create awkward divides.
You could have a 60-year-old and a 22-year-old on the same court and no one bats an eye.
That kind of inclusivity—rare in Indian sport—makes it far more scalable if the environment supports it.

Now sure, we’ve said the infrastructure isn’t quite there (and..  yeah, it’s not),
but there are signs of movement:

In 2023, India hosted its first national-level pickleball championship.
Cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad are forming interclub leagues.
And the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) has rolled out school demo programs across Maharashtra and Gujarat.

That’s not mass adoption.
But it’s a legitimate starting point for something deeper.

So maybe this isn’t just a sport curated for your Sunday reel.
Maybe it’s a Trojan horse for a new kind of recreational culture—one that prioritizes participation over prestige.

But here’s the catch:

The real test will come when the aesthetics fade, the influencer budgets dry up, and the sport is no longer cool.

That’s when we’ll know whether pickleball was the start of something bigger—
or just another niche that had a moment, then moved on.

So, What Is Pickleball, Really?

It’s not that pickleball can’t be a sport. It has a rulebook, tournaments, and a legitimate international federation. But in India, right now, pickleball is being marketed like kombucha or cold plunge tubs—a lifestyle accessory for the urban elite.

And while that’s fine in the short term, it’s a shaky foundation for a real sporting culture.

To survive long-term, pickleball in India will need more than celebrity endorsement reels. It’ll need real players. Public access. School tournaments. Government backing. Coaching programs. A federation with vision.

Otherwise, the game might win on Instagram—but lose in the real world.

Thanks for Reading!

If this article sparked a thought or made you see athlete branding a little differently — that’s a win in my playbook.
Feel free to share, contact me, or just come back for the next one.

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