Pickleball: the racket sport famous in the USA and which made the former tennis champion Andre Agassi fall in love, is experiencing an increasingly strong diffusion in Italy.
“I never thought I'd be able to say something like that, but I'll try to play until I can walk. Pickleball is a great place for former tennis players to die in peace.” Andre Agassi said.
He is only one of the latest tennis stars in love with tis new sport, which is already established in the USA and that is preparing to experience its next boom in Italy, due to a series of characteristics - of the game itself, but also of everything that revolves around it - which make the discipline very convenient for those who practice it, for those who have to promote it and for those who want to invest on it.
The growth in The Boot Shaped Counrty was notable in the first half of 2023: Italy has become, together with Spain, the European nation with the highest number of dedicated pickleball courts (around one hundred) spread from north to south of the peninsula, but the trend continues to grow rapidly.
In recent months, the increase is approximately 10 new fields per week. The number of players is also growing a lot and quickly: curiosity is increasing, as the investments to bring the game to clubs and schools.
It is interesting to understand what is happening in the meantime in the USA, where there are around 40 million players (of which 10 million are the habitual ones), around 50,000 courts in almost 15,000 different facilities, around 5,000 teachers certified by the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) and various championships professionals with millions of dollars in prize money up for grabs.
It should be considered that the US demographic scenario is very similar to that of Italy: there are many over 50s, who are the generation most loyal to the practice of Pickleball. This sport seems tailor-made for them, thanks to a less demanding performance model than other sports. Furthermore, like all sporting activities it brings health benefits and more. There are many other advantages of pickleball: sociability, ease of fun, the fact that it works very well for all genders and that it can be practiced at any age.
Therefore, it seems that the moment of pickleball has finally arrived for Italy too, and we will do everything possible so that this sport can experience a path of excellence in the country of the "dolce vita".
And you? Are you ready to discover Pickleball in Italy during your next Holidays?
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