Phoenix pickleball cools as padel rises

The pickleball craze — so hot in the pandemic and immediately afterwards — may be cooling off.

The big picture: The number of pickleball courts across the 100 most populous U.S. cities increased just 4% from 2025 to 2026. That's compared to 13% growth in 2025, and 14% in 2024.

Catch up quick: Phoenix-area retirement communities were some of the earliest adopters of the popular sport.

• We've got multiple professional teams, a bunch of pickleball/bar concepts and public courts with lines, even during the summer.

Yes, but: There's a new racket sport in town to tempt pickleballers. Padel combines the rules of tennis with the enclosed walled court and smaller racquet of squash.

• Conquer Padel Club, the Valley's first dedicated facility for the sport, opened last year.
• And earlier this year, Arizona fielded its first teams for a national amateur padel league.

What we're watching: PURE Pickleball and & Padel, which says it will be the world's largest indoor facility for the sports, is scheduled to open in Scottsdale next year.

• When it was announced in 2024, they planned for 50 pickleball courts and two padel ones. They're now advertising 40 for pickleball and 8 for padel.
• Developers previously told us they're prepared to convert more courts if padel continues to gain steam.