“I know for a fact that the IOC is very interested in pickleball,” said the president of the World Pickleball Federation, Seymour Rifkind. With curtains drawing on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the baton has shifted to the Los Angeles Olympics, which will take place four years from now. Although there’s plenty of time left for the mega-event in the United States, talks have already begun about which sports should be included and excluded from the Games. One of the names doing the rounds for its inclusion is Pickleball.

Over the past few years, the sport has been gaining a lot of traction across the world, especially in the United States. It is the fastest-growing sport in America due to its easy access and relatively cheaper equipment than tennis. Yesterday, ESPN hinted at the sport’s inclusion in the Los Angeles Olympic Games via a new video released on their Instagram handle. It made the fans go crazy and even American tennis legend, Mardy Fish, voiced his opinion on this matter.

Fish took to his official Twitter handle to throw a question for his fans, “What sports do y’all think they should add to the Summer Olympics? Mine is Jiu-Jitsu. Sport is growing like crazy and very Global.” While the fans came up with varied suggestions, one particular response caught Fish’s attention. It was when a fan responded to the American legend’s question by suggesting Pickleball, Fish had a firm rejection of this idea, saying, “It’s not even close to global enough.”

While Pickleball may have found its popularity in America, it is still a growing sport elsewhere and will take time to establish its roots. As a result, it looks unlikely that Pickleball would be included in the roster for the 2028 LA Olympics. Despite this, the President of the World Pickleball Federation is hopeful about a positive outcome.

Pickleball could be pushed into the 2028 Olympics with one major change

While Rifkin admitted that the International Olympic Committee is interested in including Pickleball in the next edition of the mega-event, it faces a major hurdle before it could be included. According to the Olympic Charter, only one body has to represent and regulate the sport worldwide. This isn’t the case in Pickleball, with bodies like the World Pickleball Federation, the International Pickleball Federation and the Global Pickleball Federation all in the play.

“Us. Our biggest challenge is the pickleball community,” Rifkin admitted while saying that if the merger happens between these bodies, Pickleball could very well be on the course for the Los Angeles Olympics. He further added, “The IOC, like any big international business, is interested in thriving and continuing to be the epitome event in sports.”

With the pace that Pickleball is growing with in America, it wouldn’t be a surprise if other countries soon follow suit. This will only make Pickleball’s case much stronger for its inclusion in the next edition of the Olympic Games.