Pickleball vs. Tennis? There’s No Competition.

The racquet sports world is growing. And that’s good news for everyone. For years, the conversation around pickleball and tennis has sounded a little like a rivalry.

Pickleball is taking over.
Tennis is fighting back.
One sport is stealing players from the other.

But what if that’s not really the story?                                      

The numbers tell us something different.

In 2024, 25.7 million Americans played tennis, while 19.8 million played pickleball. Both sports have continued to grow, and tennis participation has climbed nearly 50% since 2019. 2025 U.S. Tennis Participation Report

Pickleball, meanwhile, has experienced an entirely different kind of acceleration. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, 24.3 million Americans played pickleball in 2025, compared with just 4.2 million in 2020. SFIA Releases 2026 Pickleball Single Sport Report; Team Sports to Follow

So, who’s stealing whom?

Nobody.

People are simply playing more.

More courts. More players. More ways to play.

The growth of pickleball hasn't made tennis smaller. It has helped put racquet sports back in the spotlight.

Players are picking up paddles. Tennis players are trying pickleball. Pickleball players are crossing over to tennis. Families are finding sports they can play together. Friends are meeting at courts instead of just watching from the sidelines.

And that's the bigger story.

The USTA's own research describes the evolution of racquet sports as a broadening of the landscape rather than a fragmentation of it. 2025 U.S. Tennis Participation Report

Pickleball isn't replacing tennis.

It's giving more people another reason to pick up a racquet, grab a paddle and get on the court.

There’s room for every kind of player.

At Onix, we've always believed the best part of pickleball is that there isn't just one way to play it.

You can be competitive or casual. You can play every weekend or pick up a paddle for the first time. You can play pickleball exclusively, or you can move between sports depending on the day.

The court doesn't care what sport you played yesterday.

It just gives you another reason to play today.

As racquet sports continue to grow, the conversation doesn't need to be about pickleball vs. tennis.

It can be about pickleball and tennis.

More players. More courts. More competition. More community.

More reasons to Own Every Court.