Welcome to the Wild West of racquet sports, where booming popularity begs the question: What do we truly know, and what’s just speculation? Pickleball has electrified the racquet landscape, making its way into countless settings, from boardrooms to bars and everything in between. Private equity is now developing full-fledged “racquet funding strategies,” recognizing the industry’s complex business case and economic power. Add padel to the mix, and you get another fast-rising racquet sport breaking into the American market — but are they built for lasting success, or just riding the hype? Tennis is the legacy racquet sport, but can it sustain success in a multi-racquet environment? These are the questions shaping the future of the industry. Those who recognize and act on them will lead the next era of racquet sports. Let’s unpack the opportunities and challenges ahead.

We see both sides of this debate daily. The racquet sports industry is shifting toward a collaborative model, where venues integrate multiple sports rather than forcing competition for space. Tennis, pickleball and padel each bring value, but court size and surface preferences are reshaping the landscape. Tennis courts, at 60-by-120 feet, lose the real estate battle to pickleball, which allows four times as many courts in the same footprint. Surface preferences are also changing — hard courts once fueled accessibility and growth, but outside of collegiate and academy training, today’s demand is shifting toward softer surfaces like red and green clay. While pickleball thrives on hard courts due to its closer game play, the long-term success of tennis........

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