St. Pete ranks among most ‘pickleball-obsessed’ cities in the U.S.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It’s among the fastest growing sports in the country and pickleball continues to take St. Petersburg by storm.

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton & ping-pong, and it’s grown tremendously in popularity since the pandemic.

The site "offers.bet" did a survey and analysis of Google searches to rank America’s Most pickleball-obsessed cities. St. Pete landed at 14 on the list.

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"It surprised me, but I think it’s awesome, and I came out here as a tennis player and, believe it or not, it was the young people that told me I needed to get to pickleball," James Camp said.

The report cited the good weather as one reason why the sport has grown so much in popularity in Florida. People who play say it’s also an opportunity to meet new people and build a sense of community.

"I really love how you can play with people that are 15 all the way up to 70 and the competition is always just as good. So, enjoy all the people out here and the people that play this game," Taylor Morton said.

St. Pete has an adult pickleball league and opened several indoor and outdoor courts to accommodate them.

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"Really important because without all of this it would be really hard for us to play. As it is the courts are really busy, and sometimes you have to wait to play, but that’s another way that you get to meet a lot of people and make friends," Lisa Matamoros said.

For more information, visit stpeteparksrec.org/athleticscourts.