Your parents play it. Your mates play it. There's a court where the old tennis club used to be and a waitlist at the new one down the road. Somewhere along the way, pickleball took over Australia, and nobody's quite sure when it happened.
It's not just a feeling. The numbers, the venues and the money all point the same way. Here's why everyone's suddenly so keen to grab a paddle, and where the sport is heading next.
The numbers
- Pickleball Australia now represents more than 27,000 members and over 410 affiliated clubs and venues across the country.
- The 2025 Australian Pickleball Championships drew a record 1,235 players, making it the biggest pickleball tournament in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest outside the US.
- The 2026 Victorian Pickleball Championships attracted just under 1,000 entrants, playing across more than 40 courts.
- The Australian Sports Commission's AusPlay survey has pickleball as Australia's fastest-growing sport by participation.
And those are just the people who signed up for something. Plenty more are playing at council courts and leisure centres without telling anyone, apart from everyone they've ever met.
How it got here
The first known game of pickleball in Australia was played in 2010. For most of the next decade it was a small, mostly older community sport played in community halls with portable nets.
Then things moved quickly. A new national governing body was formed in 2020, now known as Pickleball Australia. The National Pickleball League launched in 2023 and held its first tournament that July. Australia sent a national team to the 2025 Pickleball World Cup. And in 2026, Pickleball Australia continued its partnership with DUPR, the global rating system, so players at every level can track their progress against everyone else.
In about five years, pickleball went from "what's that" to a structured national sport with rankings, leagues, state tours and pro events.
Why it's taking off
1. You can play on day one. The court is small, the ball is slow, and the serve is underarm. Most people are rallying in their first session. Try saying that about tennis or golf.
2. Anyone can play with anyone. Teenagers, parents and grandparents can share a court and have a genuinely good game. Very few sports pull that off, and families have noticed.
3. It's cheap to start. A paddle and a few balls cost much less than most racquet sports, and plenty of councils have added free courts to parks. You can be playing for the price of a pub lunch.
4. It's social. Doubles, small courts and open play sessions where you rotate partners every game. You leave with more mates than you arrived with. People describe it as one of the most welcoming sports they've played.
5. It's easy on the body. Less running than tennis, less impact than squash. A lot of people come to pickleball after their knees retire from something else, and keep playing well into their seventies.
6. It fits anywhere. Four pickleball courts fit on one tennis court. Councils can paint lines on existing basketball, netball and tennis courts, which is why public courts have appeared so quickly.
7. The venues got good. Dedicated clubs with bars, cafés and pro shops have turned pickleball into a night out, not just a workout. Rooftop courts in Sydney, warehouse clubs in Melbourne and premium venues in Brisbane have made it something people do on a Friday night.
8. It's competitive if you want it to be. DUPR ratings, state tours and national championships mean social players can find a clear path into competition.
The money is following
When big operators move in, a sport is here to stay. A few recent examples:
- The Picklr, a US indoor pickleball franchise, opened its first Australian club in Cronulla in August 2026, with hundreds of people at the opening day. It's the first of a planned rollout of around 50 sites across Australia and New Zealand.
- The PPA Tour is bringing the world's best players to Brisbane for the 2026 Australian Pickleball Cup at Pat Rafter Arena, billed as the strongest field and richest prize purse in the sport's Australian history.
- Dedicated venue groups like House of Pickle, The Jar and Dink & Drive keep opening new sites in every capital city.
- Regional tournaments are growing too. Queensland runs a state tour of around ten events a year, and recent events in places like Cairns have drawn players from all over the country.
The growing pains
It's not all smooth sailing. Demand for dedicated courts is outstripping supply in many areas, so peak sessions book out fast and players are still borrowing court time in community venues. And outdoor pickleball is loud. The hard plastic ball makes a distinctive pop that neighbours don't always love, which is part of the appeal of quieter balls and indoor venues.
Good problems to have, mostly. They're the problems of a sport growing faster than the infrastructure around it.
What about padel?
Padel is booming too, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, but it needs expensive glass courts at purpose-built clubs. Pickleball can go anywhere there's a flat surface and some paint, which is a big part of why it has spread so fast. Not sure which one to try? Read padel vs pickleball.
Where it's heading
Expect more of everything: more dedicated indoor clubs, more council courts, more leagues, more DUPR-rated events and more pro tournaments. Expect tennis clubs to keep adding pickleball lines to fill quiet courts. And expect more people to discover that the ball matters, because once you play regularly, you go through a lot of them.
Pickleball in Australia FAQs
Is pickleball popular in Australia?
Yes, and growing fast. Pickleball Australia represents more than 27,000 members and over 410 clubs and venues, and AusPlay data has it as the country's fastest-growing sport by participation.
Why is pickleball so popular?
It's easy to learn, cheap to start, social, low impact and playable by almost any age. Plus there are now great venues to play in.
Who plays pickleball in Australia?
Everyone, increasingly. It started with older players, but families, former tennis players, young professionals and competitive athletes have all joined in.
Is pickleball more popular than padel in Australia?
By participation numbers, pickleball is bigger. Padel is growing quickly in the major cities but has fewer courts because they're expensive to build.
Want to try it?
Find a court near you in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth. Then work out which balls you need with our indoor vs outdoor guide.
Everyone's playing. Bring the balls.
Be the one who turns up with fresh ones. The LUFT Arrow 40 is USA Pickleball approved and works indoors and out, and we'll deliver them on whatever schedule you set.