National Pickleball Day: Why pickleball is such a popular sport in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — It isn't rare to find Caprina Mathias out on the 11th Avenue pickleball courts multiple times a week, bringing her co-workers along with her, or playing with new people she just met.

"I could probably talk about pickleball all day, because I love it so much," Mathias said Thursday after a day on the Salt Lake City-area courts.

She first got into the sport 2½ years ago after learning about it from some friends. After moving to Utah from Oregon, she got even more interested in pickleball and now spends a lot of time playing in the summer.

"I feel like I can also be very silly and expressive," Mathias said about why she enjoys pickleball. "And I feel like it's like one of the purest versions of me where I can just be myself, just because I'm having so much fun that I can kind of go a little wild."

Mathias is just one of many around the state who have started regularly playing pickleball in recent years. Not only has the sport grown in popularity, it also has its own national holiday.

Friday is National Pickleball Day, and Utahns are happy to celebrate.

According to the Action Network, pickleball has ranked as the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. four years in a row.

Lydia Pehrson, a University of Utah student who plays pickleball several times a week, said she had played a few times while living in New Mexico, but when she moved to Utah three years ago, she started playing regularly.

"I'm just athletic, so I like playing a lot of sports, but I feel like pickleball is something that you can pick up easily and that you can get good at easily," she said.

Utah is pickleball-obsessed

"I feel like in Utah, it is very popular here," Mathias said, when comparing Utah to other states she's played pickleball in.

According to a report from the Action Network, Utah ranks as the second-most pickleball-obsessed state in the U.S., following Vermont.

The ranking was based on "the number of venues for playing pickleball, the state's Google search volume for pickleball-related terms, and the Google Trends ranking for interest in pickleball by state."

Utah received a "Pickleball Obsession Index" score of 6.35, Vermont's is 7.20, per the Action Network.

Utah has the highest search volume for pickleball by population, with 737,000 searches for the sport in 2024.

"I just think it's super fun, it's super easy, you just get one to three other people and just go out and play, and it's not a hard sport, it doesn't take a lot of effort. So I feel like any age can play it," Pehrson said. "Especially in Utah, there's so many courts around, and just the opportunities to play are there."

More pickleball venues being built

As the sport grows in popularity, dedicated pickleball courts have been popping up everywhere in Utah over the past couple of years. These courts can be found at parks, middle and high schools, as well as venues specifically for pickleball, such as Picklr locations spread across the state.

According to the Action Network, Utah has 157 pickleball venues, which is equal to 4.5 per 100,000 people.

This summer, the Picklr, a chain of indoor pickleball venues, opened a new location in Lehi with 13 courts in the 40,000-square-foot facility. Another location will open in Bluffdale later this summer.

A sport anyone can play

"Growing up, I tried out so many different sports — like dodgeball and volleyball, tennis, rock climbing — and I love those sports, but there's something about pickleball. ... It's so fun, and I feel like it's a sport that anybody can do," Mathias said.

One bonus: She feels like it is a sport that is more equal for everyone, and that people of all ages can play.

Mathias also shared that once you get the basics down, it becomes "really fun, because of the different variations that you can do and all the different ways that you can hit the ball."

Pickleball builds friendships

As Mathias increased her playing, she got her co-workers involved. Now, there are six of them that all play.

"I'm converting everyone to the pickleball madness," she laughed.

Pehrson said she has a group of friends who all enjoy playing regularly, and she also met one of her best friends through the sport.

Utah's place in professional pickleball

Last week, Major League Pickleball made a stop in Utah.

The tournament was the league's final event of the season, taking place at the Picklr in Kaysville. Hosted by the Utah Black Diamond team, pickleball aficionados in the state cheered on their favorite players and teams.

"It seems like Utah is one of the original hubs of pickleball," Zane Navratil of the New Jersey Fives said during the tournament. "We love the fans here."

And it appears Utahns love to play as well.

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