Fast-Growing Racquet Sport Scripts History as 12-Year-Old American Player Easily Overtakes the Likes of Elite Tennis Stars

Players like Kim Clijsters and Tom Brady have vouched for the growth of the new sensational sport, Pickleball, in the US. However, on the other hand, there are players like Martina Navratilova too, who fear the dominance of the game over her sport. Despite everything, the stats are showing pickleball’s growth. Forbes 30 under 30 list featured a player from pickleball but none from tennis.

This might be a worrying situation because despite having replenished young talents in the tennis realm, the names are not there on the list.

The rising popularity of Pickleball over Tennis

Forbes released its 30 under 30 list which featured a 12-year-old pickleball player but not one tennis player. This shows the growing popularity of the racquet sport in the USA. Though pickleball might be far behind the age-old sport in the sphere of popularity, it is still making rapid strides. The absence of tennis players from the Forbes list is valid proof to legitimize it. The 12-year-old, Anna Leigh Waters, has become the youngest professional pickleball player and champion in the same year. She is currently World No 1 in both women’s singles and doubles categories.

READ MORE: ‘Let Them Build Their Own Courts’ – Martina Navratilova Opposes Pickleball Players for Taking Over Tennis Courts

Despite having young talents like Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, tennis has failed to register even one name on the list. Maybe because of this, there are some tennis stars who are not in the support of pickleball.

Martina Navratilova worries about the dominance of pickleball

The 18-time Grand Slam champion made a name for herself by the way she played. Navratilova has voiced her concern over the rising domination of pickleball. She recently made her discontent clear when she challenged the proponents of the game to build their own courts.

This is because pickleball is a variant of tennis and its courts are being used to play the new game. The US has almost four million people playing the game.

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Moreover, tennis legend Kim Clijsters and NFL quarterback Tom Brady have joined hands to invest in the expansion of the teams in the pickleball major league. Do you think that after some time pickleball can reign over tennis? Let us know in the comments below.