A senior lunges during a pickleball match. [Photo by Ron B used under Creative Commons License]
By 2018 the national annual estimated number of senior pickleball injuries reached parity with the estimated annual number of senior tennis injuries, according to Injury Epidemiology.
Senior males were three-and-a-half times more likely than females to suffer a pickleball-related strain or sprain.
Women were over three-and-a-half times more likely to suffer a fracture compared to men and nine times more likely to suffer a wrist fracture. Patterns of senior tennis and pickleball injuries were mostly similar.
Surprisingly, there are not a lot of pickleball related injuries reported among older adults in Pasadena, according to local instructor Sandy Chila.
“I do teach a lot of older players and there are not a lot of – I would say there are zero injuries [among] older players playing pickleball. Pickleball is a very non-abrasive sport. I mean, it’s not like hockey, you’re not going to get hit.”
With pickleball, a player can go as hard or as soft as they want to go. “Brains and finesse” are needed to play the sport, said Chila.
“You can control the element of aggressiveness. If you want to run for the ball, you can run as hard as you want but if you’re not feeling up for running up for it, there’s not a lot of diving going on pickleball. I think that if you don’t want to run fast to get the ball just don’t run fast. I think you can have a pretty good sense of the limitations of playing the sport.”
“There’s nothing immediate that’s going to be detrimental to their health,” he added.
Because strength is not needed to dominate in pickleball, Chila said the sport can be for all ages.
“I see 85-year-old players killing it out there. I see some 85 year old players beating 20-year-old players.”
“What’s great about pickleball is it’s so accessible to every age because there’s so much finesse.”
Chila said pickleball can be similar to chess with its own set of rules and strategic plays.
“You need brains and finesse. Tennis is a passing sport. All you’re trying to do in tennis is pass the ball. In pickleball, because the court is so small, it’s difficult to pass at a certain level. So now all you’re trying to do is outsmart your player and that’s where the chess element comes in,” he added.
Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket sport where two players, or four players, hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a 36-inch-high net using solid-faced paddles.
Often described as a combination of tennis, Ping-Pong and badminton, pickleball grew nearly 40 percent between 2019 and 2021.
With more than 4.8 million participants nationwide, the sport is now considered the fastest-growing sport in the United States, according to a 2022 report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
Due to the increasing demand for pickleball facilities in Pasadena, the City Council last June approved the$217,625 contract for the restoration of the four tennis courts at McKinley School to include two dedicated pickleball courts, two dedicated tennis courts, and one hybrid court with striping to accommodate a tennis court or two additional pickleball courts.
The city opened the renovated courts to the public just last October 26.
The pickleball courts at McKinley School are operational from 4:30- 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends with the exception of scheduled Pasadena Unified School District events.
