Tennis, anyone? Djokovic worries that sport is ‘endangered’ by the rise of pickleball

Tennis star Novak Djokovic says his beloved sport is endangered. If pickleball continues to grow, tennis could go the way of the Dodo, the No. 2 men’s player told reporters at Wimbledon last weekend.

“If we don’t do something about it, globally or collectively, paddle — pickleball in the States — they’re gonna convert all the tennis clubs into paddle and pickleball,” the 24-time Grand Slam winner said.

Pickleball, a low-impact version of tennis that uses paddles and hollow plastic balls, is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. Pickleball players note that the game is easy to pick up for beginners and offers a welcoming community.

Djokovic notes that pickleball, with its 44-foot courts, is more efficient in limited spaces.

“You can build three paddle courts on one tennis court,” Djokovic said. “Do the simple math. It’s just much more financially viable for the owner of the club to have those courts.”

The 37-year-old Serbian said tennis is still the king of racquet sports, but even industry leaders need to adapt and grow.

“When we look at Formula 1 for example and what they’ve done in terms of marketing, in terms of growth of the sport … I think we need to do a better job on our respective tours,” Djokovic said. “In the grand scheme of things, we need to address all these challenges and issues. Because they’ve been out there for a while.”