Is Pickleball an Olympic Sport?

The popularity of pickleball has skyrocketed in recent years, gripping people and players of all ages and backgrounds. With its accessibility and social appeal, the sport continues to grow throughout the world, making many pickleball enthusiasts wonder if pickleball is an olympic sport. Currently, the answer is no – at least not for the time being. But the inclusion of the sport in the Olympics isn’t far-fetched, even though pickleball has yet to debut there. Let’s dive into the details of why pickleball isn’t in the Olympics and what needs to happen for it to be.

Why Isn’t Pickleball an Olympic Sport?

1. Lack of Global Reach: While pickleball has been growing globally, the majority of its growth is centered in a handful of countries like the U.S., Canada, and Australia. The sport needs a larger global presence and must be widely played across multiple continents by both women and men to be included in the Olympics. Having a strong presence in Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa with more national federations and global competitions is the kind of growth that will help pickleball’s bid to be in the Olympics. Specifically, to receive Olympic admission, a sport must be played by men in 75 countries across 4 continents and by women in at least 40 countries and across 3 continents.

2. Recognition From the International Olympic Committee (IOC): To be considered for Olympic inclusion, a sport must be governed by an international federation recognized by the IOC. Even though pickleball has the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP), it has not received official recognition from the IOC, which is a crucial step towards becoming an official sport in the Olympics.

3. Standardized Competitive Structure: A major part of a sport joining the Olympics is a well-established professional and amateur competitive structure. While there are professional and amateur leagues like the Carvana PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball (MLP), pickleball still lacks a universal and standardized system of play that is required to be included in the Olympics. Before making the Olympics, participating in other major multi-sport events such as the Pan American Games, Asian Games, or the World Games while using a unified structure of play would demonstrate that pickleball is a legitimate global sport.

4. Compliance with Olympic Regulations: Every Sport in the Olympics must adhere to the Olympic Charter; including the World Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions. Establishing these standards and regulations across all nations is a complex and tedious process that pickleball governing bodies still have yet to work through.

5. Competition for Limited Olympic Spots: The Olympics only has a certain number of sports that it can accommodate and each potential sport must compete against other emerging sports. For example, sports like skateboarding, surfing, and climbing were added to the Olympics because of their appeal to youth and international popularity. Pickleball would need this global enthusiasm and competitiveness to be considered, which it certainly looks like will happen, it is just a matter of time.

Potential for Pickleball’s Olympic Inclusion

In conclusion, the path for pickleball being included into the Olympics is challenging and requires concerted participation from the global pickleball community. The most promising indicator for pickleball is the sport’s rapid growth. However, achieving the global reach necessary for the Olympics will take time. Through developing relationships, dedicated promotion, and adherence to international practices, pickleball will be a great candidate for future Olympics. It is likely the game won’t be featured in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but there is a possibility for it to be featured in the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia. 

One exciting loophole in the process of becoming an Olympic sport is that host cities can propose new sports for inclusion in the Olympic Games for that specific year. With how popular pickleball has become in Australia, it’s possible that the Australian committee may nominate pickleball as one of its sports. If this happens, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will evaluate the proposal and make a decision. As an example, in 2020, host city Tokyo proposed the inclusion of baseball/softball, surfing, karate, skateboarding, and sport climbing, all of which were approved by the IOC.