Pickleball — a combination of tennis, badminton and ping-pong — surged in popularity over the past two years. But the sport's rapid rise is much more than a pandemic-fueled fad.
State of play: Pickleball participation grew by 21.3% between 2019 and 2020, prompting the Economist to declare it "the fastest growing sport in America." 4.2 million Americans now play at least once a year.
The NCAA's summer of change is bleeding into what should be an equally impactful winter.
Driving the news: The NCAA and leaders across each division will meet on Monday to discuss the association's newly-drafted constitution, with the goal of gathering feedback ahead of a final vote in January.
The Women's Tennis Association on Sunday called on Chinese officials to investigate player Peng Shuai's allegations that China's former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli sexually assaulted her.
Why it matters: WTA CEO Steve Simon took the extraordinary step of issuing a statement calling for a "full, fair and transparent investigation" and an "end of censorship" against the former world no. 1 doubles player, who made the allegations in a since-deleted online post.
