Pickleball: From A Casual Game To Competitive, Demanding Sport

By Ahmad Aidil Syukri Hamzah dan Muhammad Zulkarnain Mohd Azman

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Bernama) --  Although pickleball was originally created in 1965 as a casual family game, the sport’s transition into a faster-paced style of play is now beginning to reveal a “dark side” for players who lack adequate physical preparation.

Professional sport massage therapist Mohd Azlan Othman views the transition as a potential threat to players’ musculoskeletal systems if they fail to balance their enthusiasm for the sport with their body’s physical capacity.

Azlan, who has experience working with elite athletes on the Paralympic stage, said the use of modern equipment such as carbon-fiber paddles and faster balls has forced players to adopt extremely aggressive footwork.

“Equipment has changed, rallies are faster, speed-ups and lateral footwork are very aggressive. If we look at rehabilitation science, injuries occur when the load rate exceeds the muscle capacity that we have,” he told Bernama.

He also warned that the increasing weekly playing load without sufficient muscle adaptation - which normally takes months - is a major factor causing players’ bodies to “break down”, leading to injuries such as ankle sprains and knee problems.

The same concern was echoed by physiotherapist Aiman Arief Abdul Aziz, who said the playing style that requires rapid lateral movement and sudden stops places extraordinary stress on ligaments and stabilising muscles.

“More advanced equipment and the faster tempo of play create an overuse risk because this transition from casual to aggressive often happens without proper strength training and conditioning.

“Lateral movements and sudden stops place the greatest strain on knee joints such as the ACL and MCL, the ankles, as well as the hips due to the high stress on ligaments and stabilising muscles when chasing fast balls,” he said, noting that  there were a growing number of patients related to the sport at physiotherapy clinics.

The situation in Malaysia reflects global trends, as reported by ESPN, which estimated that pickleball-related medical costs in the United States reached about USD350 million in 2023.

International data also shows a surge in emergency cases, including a 90-fold increase in fracture incidents since 2020, most of which resulted from falls on the court, as well as age factors, with players aged 40 and above being more at risk due to reduced tissue elasticity.

For Muhamad Rohaizam Latib, president of Laughing Pickle Club, a social pickleball club in the Klang Valley, the sport’s appeal is so strong that many players become “hooked” compared with other racket sports.

“Players tend to chase every ball even when they are off balance. Many social players also like to go straight onto the court and perform smash shots without proper stretching routines,” he said.

As such, he advised enthusiasts not to underestimate the importance of physical preparation and to make 10 to 15 minutes of dynamic warm-up mandatory to activate the nervous system and prepare muscles for explosive movements.

-- BERNAMA