by Joe James
What’s the Story?
South Africa has seen padel explode since 2020 with more than 206 clubs, 600 courts and 100,000 players, but the pickleball craze that has been seen across the globe is gaining momentum and making investors rethink.
The Daily Maverick reports that South Africa’s pickleball market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 23.49% from 2024 to 2029, signalling the sport’s affordability and accessibility.
Padel’s occupancy rates in South Africa have dropped from 70% to between 30% and 50%, and nearly half of the players come from the country’s top 5% of households, according to the latest BrandMapp Survey.
Played mainly by elites is just one of the issues at hand, with the size of courts and other maintenance requirements like sufficient drainage systems making investors reconsider.
Perhaps, these investors may turn towards pickleball as it is far more accessible and less expensive.
Pickleball is now emerging as a fast-growing alternative to traditional racket sports in South Africa with reports estimating that nearly 50 pickleball clubs are available in the country.
The Confederation of African Pickleball (CAP), formed in 2023, is helping to perpetuate the growth and development of the sport in Africa, which includes South Africa, as they look to get pickleball moving across the continent.
At the 2024 African Games in Ghana, pickleball made its debut as South Africa was amongst the nine nations represented.
The Recap
Pickleball’s inclusion at the 2024 African Games was a landmark moment with South Africa securing a silver medal in the women’s doubles and bronze in the women’s singles.
South Africa was represented by some of their top players, including Marko Stavrou, Costas Martinis, Lynette Whelpton, and Bianca Auret.
The formation of CAP under the International Pickleball Federation (IPF) is an important moment for the future of pickleball across the continent and the benefits are already being seen with the sport emerging as a major rival to padel but also overtaking other racket sports across the globe.
At the grassroots level, South Africa has witnessed an impressive expansion in pickleball infrastructure.
It was only pre-pandemic when the sport was relatively unknown, but these shores now boast nearly 50 venues.
The top players, alongside newfound pickleball enthusiasts, and those who maybe saw padel as inaccessible for them, are now driving the sport, with clubs springing up in major cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
These clubs provide friendly but competitive environments for players of all levels as they help to organise coaching, as well as tournaments and just generally fortify the infrastructure across South Africa.
Compared to tennis and padel, both of which are fully established, pickleball’s appeal lies within how easy it is to pick up and play, the smaller court and for investors, it is potentially a far easier market to be involved in.
The PKLBull Verdict
As seen across the globe, South Africa is the latest nation to be bitten by the pickleball bug, and like India, it is a nation that has a rich sporting heritage and especially loves racket sports.
With the entry of the game into the Africa Games in 2024 and South Africa’s success in the event, alongside organisations such as CAP pushing for international recognition, there are a lot of big plans and excitement on the horizon.
Tennis remains a dominant force, but the love for padel is waning here, with experts putting it down to the oversaturation of the sport and therefore the actual playing of the sport unable to catch up with the demands placed on it.
While it is very exciting for pickleball to be rivalling other hugely popular sports, organisations and investors can learn a few lessons on where padel has fallen short in South Africa.
Making sure to keep pickleball fresh, accessible and seen as an alternative that has no barrier to entry is essential in maintaining the momentum the sport has behind it right now.
Pickleball isn’t just trendy, it is here to stay.
All you must do is look around and see the buzz all over the world to see what’s going on here is far beyond something of a trend or short-lived craze.
It now looks as if South Africa is another nation hopping onto the rapid expansion of pickleball in what is a highly interesting time for the game.