U.S. Open Pickleball: Popularity means big business as sport grows
Pickle Pro started in Naples four years ago, well before the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships came to town, manufacturing paddles for the sport few people had heard of.
Most people still might not know about the sport with the funny name, but Pickle Pro is booming. After selling paddles online only for three years, the company opened a retail store in February. Pickle Pro’s newest venture is a pair of indoor courts open to the public at its warehouse in East Naples.
“We’ve been growing probably an average of about 150 percent a year,” Pickle Pro operations manager Tom Watson said. “We’ve exceeded our expectations as far as sales and reaction from the public.”
The sport might not be mainstream – yet – but pickleball is big business. And, like the local Pickle Pro, it’s growing.
More than 1,300 athletes are competing in the U.S. Open, the seven-day national tournament at East Naples Community Park for the second straight year. That’s a 40-percent increase in participation.
U.S. Open helps Naples become 'Pickleball Capital of the World'
Employees of the dozens of vendors set up shop at the park this week have seen the popularity of pickleball skyrocket. In East Naples this week there are companies selling paddles, balls, nets, shirts, headgear, even shoes designed with pickleball in mind.
As the sport grows past baby boomers and retirees, more companies are getting into pickleball.
“It’s the grassroots nature of pickleball, the popularity of the sport, and just the environment,” Onix Pickleball associate product manager Zach Scheller said of the growth. “It’s a testament to the sport. It’s so addicting. Once we caught the bug, it was a no-brainer for us to get involved.”
New pickleball peddlers continue to pop up, while some well-established sporting goods companies are getting into the game.
Onix is the latter. The company is part of Escalade Sports, a 100-year-old publicly-traded company based in Evansville, Indiana. Escalade, which makes a large variety of athletic equipment, acquired Pickleball Now in 2014 and bought Onix the following year.
Some of the top tennis companies are taking the pickleball court as well. Franklin and Head have booths in the U.S. Open’s vendor village that are selling wares. Head even has a pickleball shoe it’s promoting.
Accompanying businesses are starting, too, not just clothing and equipment businesses. Pickleball Magazine is at the U.S. Open this week. So is the Pickleball Channel, an online video service.
Locally-based Pickle Pro started in 2013, but it’s still one of the older companies selling pickleball gear. They’ve sold 80,000 paddles since opening, Watson said, all made in Naples.
There are more than 40 companies making pickleball paddles. The equipment can range from $29 for a “factory second” – an item with slight cosmetic damage caused during manufacturing – to $139 for a top-of-the-line paddle.
In April, Pickle Pro moved into an 11,500-square-foot building the owner purchased in the White Lake Corporate Park near Collier Boulevard, just east of Interstate 75. Just last week the facility debuted two air-conditioned indoor courts that players can rent or pay $59 for a monthly membership. Pickle Pro also has an in-house pro who teaches lessons.
For Pickle Pro sales are 'rocketing' online
Paddletek is one of the biggest manufacturers in the game. Started in 2011 by brothers Curtis and Cody Smith, the company was the first to make a pickleball paddle out of polymer. Now 80 percent of paddles are made from the material, Curtis Smith said.
The paddle-makers are big enough now to sponsor players. Fort Myers native Kyle Yates, 22, is sponsored by Paddletek. Onix and Engage Pickleball also have scores of athletes competing in the U.S. Open.
With pickleball’s popularity still rising, the companies say there still is room to grow. The sport is easy and fun to learn, and it’s low-impact, making it accessible to people of all ages and athletic skill.
“The question will be if it goes mass market,” Paddletek co-owner Smith said. “It has the potential to. Courts are going up all over the country. A lot more younger players are getting into it. Kids are playing with their parents and grandparents, and that’s helping it spread.”
Jonathan Clay owns Kitch Pickleball, the U.S. Open’s official apparel company. His T-shirts and shorts are the only clothing items allowed to use the tournament’s logo.
A semipro racquetball player in New Jersey, Clay started making lifestyle clothing for his sport 15 years ago. He worked with the owners of Aspire Promotions, which put on the U.S. Open, making apparel for a big racquetball tournament in his home state.
When the Aspire team asked him to supply pickleball clothing before last year’s inaugural U.S. Open, Clay had never heard of the sport. Now he can barely keep up with demand.
“The response was so strong, we had to stop promoting,” Clay said. “I was selling all my inventory that I needed to bring (to Naples).”
U.S. Open Pickleball Championships return benefits to Naples
At his booth in the vendor village, Clay said he’s been approached by 10-15 people running pickleball tournaments around the country. While he might make 150 shirts for a big racquetball tournament, Clay said he’s heard from pickleball tournament directors interested in orders of 400 or more.
“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America, and it’s continuing to gain traction,” he said.
U.S. Open Pickleball Championships
Thursday, April 27
Women’s doubles skill events
Gold medal winners
Age 19-49, 3.0 – Crissey Miller, Lisa Silver
Age 19-49, 3.5 – Gen Yong, Iris Warren
Age 19-49, 4.0 – Rho Blank, Sarah Rosenblum
Age 19-49, 4.5 – Nicole Cameron, Kris Carey
Age 19-49, 5.0 – JoAnne Russell, Gee Gee Garvin
50-and-older, 2.5 – Claire Kruse, Sandy White
50-and-older, 3.0 – Holly Bacon, Suzanne Graziano
50-and-older, 3.5 – Linda Brodeur, Anne Gould
50-and-older, 4.0 – Helen Stephens, Coleen Wells
50-and-older, 4.5 – Jenny Butler, Jana Spano
50-and-older, 5.0 – Jackie Faegre, Carol Lindow
Senior Pro – Jennifer Dawson, Gigi LeMaster