By Mary Helen Sprecher new study on pickleball published by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association identified the top complaint among players: Overcrowding on courts.

While it’ s easy to write off the cause as the surging popularity of the sport, the root of the problem goes deeper. In fact, a big contributor is the fact that many clubs, resorts, parks and schools are trying to satisfy the demand for pickleball quickly by adding pickleball lines to tennis courts. And that’ s just creating problems, namely a glut of people trying to find court time in the same spaces.

It’ s really a perfect storm. For one, tennis is gaining players as well. The U. S. Tennis Association’ s( USTA’ s) Todd Carlson, senior director, Tennis Venue Services, Parks & CTAs, noted that in the last five years, tennis has grown, adding seven

30 SportsField Management | February 2026 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com