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Field Notes [ ]
A living collection of real-time consumer and market observations, analyzed and interpreted here at Strivde.
The net effect of pickleball
Analysis by Strivde based on Google Search Trends. ‘DMA’ refers to Designated Market Area, a Nielsen-defined geographic unit grouping U.S. counties into regional markets. Each dot represents a U.S. DMA with sufficient tennis search activity for reliable trend measurement; 39 of 210 DMAs were excluded due to insufficient search volume. Tennis growth reflects 5-year change in search interest using a 52-week rolling average. Pickleball search share reflects its proportion of total racquet sports search activity (tennis, pickleball and padel combined), January 1, 2025 – February 26, 2026. These findings are directional. For informational purposes only. © 2026 Strivde. All rights reserved.
The data suggests a weak but consistent negative relationship between pickleball’s share of online racquet sports search and five-year tennis search growth across U.S. markets. Areas where pickleball commands a larger share of search attention tend to show softer tennis search growth.
The relationship is not overwhelming, and causality cannot be established from search data alone. In some cases, reduced tennis access may be suppressing tennis search mechanically, and not necessarily because people have lost interest. It’s also possible that pickleball is largely attracting consumers who were never tennis players to begin with; market-level correlation doesn’t tell us whether the same person is switching sports.
Importantly, tennis search has grown in every U.S. market (at least those with sufficient data for reliable measurement). The pattern simply suggests slower relative growth where pickleball is strongest, not absolute decline.
→ Read the full report behind the gate
A Wider Net: What online search reveals about the changing U.S. racket sports landscape.
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Analysis by Strivde based on Google Search Trends. ‘DMA’ refers to Designated Market Area, a Nielsen-defined geographic unit grouping U.S. counties into regional markets. Each dot represents a U.S. DMA with sufficient tennis search activity for reliable trend measurement; 39 of 210 DMAs were excluded due to insufficient search volume. Tennis growth reflects 5-year change in search interest using a 52-week rolling average. Pickleball search share reflects its proportion of total racquet sports search activity (tennis, pickleball and padel combined), January 1, 2025 – February 26, 2026. These findings are directional. For informational purposes only. © 2026 Strivde. All rights reserved.