How Many Pickleball Games Do People Play per Week?

You’ve recently picked up a full-blown pickleball addiction—so bad that every time someone says “pickleball,” your whole body twitches like a dog who just heard the word “food.” Now, you’re probably wondering: are other people like you? How often do they actually play pickleball each week? Spoiler alert: most players usually hit the court 2-3 days a week, squeezing in around 21-30 games. But don’t just take my word for it—stick around, because we’re about to break down the numbers and spill all the juicy details.

How Often Do People Play Pickleball Per Week: Let’s Break It Down

One of pickleball’s characteristics that draws people in is its accessibility for people of all ages. Moreover, each game only lasts around 15-25 minutes, which allows even the busiest people on earth to relax and have some fun with others. Of course, the frequency of playing pickleball games each week depends on players’ free time.

But how often do people actually play?

According to the 2024 SFIA report, players can be divided into two groups:

• Casual Players, 13.6 million people, are the largest group of players who show up on the court 1-7 times a year.
• Core Players, 6.2 million people, are the people who play 8 or more times in a year.

But wait! Isn’t this article supposed to tell you how often people play pickleball per week? Yes, you’re not wrong. While the yearly data gives us a general sense of player engagement, weekly-specific statistics are surprisingly hard to come by.

Since official weekly stats are scarce, we turned to the place where players actually talk: Reddit. While not scientific, the insights shared by players themselves can tell us a lot about real-world playing habits.

Weekly Frequency? Let’s Ask the Internet

With official weekly stats hard to find, we turned to the next best thing: Reddit and Facebook. By browsing through existing posts and comment threads where players casually shared how often they play, we compiled a rough snapshot of weekly routines from about 180 people.

Pickleball Frequency: Days on the Court

From what we've gathered from player discussions online, the largest portion (22.22%) tends to play pickleball 2 to 3 times per week. Close behind, 21.11% play 3 to 4 times weekly, and 18.89% play just 1 to 2 times.

Pickleball Frequency: Games on the Court

Now, let’s talk about how many games players actually play per week. Most players tend to mention how many hours they play per day or week, rather than the number of games. So, to keep things simple and consistent with how we visualized the data, we used 15 minutes per game as a baseline. While actual game lengths can vary between 15 and 25 minutes, using 15 minutes per game gives us a rough maximum estimate of weekly games played.

The largest group of players (20.56%) usually plays around 21 to 30 games a week, followed by 18.89% who play 11 to 20 games. Next up, the players who go all out playing 31–40 games, 41–50 games, and those absolute legends logging over 61 games a week each hold an equal share of the pie at 17.22%.

Finding the Perfect Pickleball Routine: How Many Days a Week Is Just Right?

Pickleball addiction is real, and honestly, we get it. But don’t let that love for the game wreck your knees and leave you saying “ouch” every time you try to sit on a toilet. Listen to your body, not just your heart—because if you ignore those warning signs, your sweet pickleball romance might just end in injury.

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week, or a combination of both.

But 150 minutes per week? That’s just the baseline! You can go up to 300 minutes a week, which equals about 5 hours of pickleball fun. Break that up, and boom—you’ve got enough playtime for at least three solid days a week without overloading your schedule.

In conclusion, playing pickleball at least 3 days a week is a great way to get those sweet health benefits. And if your schedule (and knees) allow, you can totally “Go beyond: Plus Ultra!” (Yes, Anime reference. Don’t judge🥲). Just remember not to push through pain. Know when to rest, or you might end up sidelined and missing out on all the fun.

A Dink A Day Keeps the Doctor Away: 5 Health Benefits of Playing Pickleball

Some people have a busy schedule every day to the point that spending an hour in a gym or in front of their TV to do some boring exercise seems to be out of reach, especially when it feels more like torture than fun. That’s when Pickleball comes into play, a fun sport—with each game lasting around 15-25 minutes—that you can play with friends, family, or even strangers.

Not only does it fit easily into a packed schedule, but pickleball also offers a surprising range of health benefits that make it much more than just a good time on the court.

• Low-impact workout, happy joints – Unlike other sports where you have to sprint across what feels like the distance from the US to the UK just to return a ball, pickleball keeps things compact. The court is smaller, the pace is more manageable, and you're not forced to run like your life depends on it. That’s why it’s become a hit, especially among people who want to stay active without putting too much stress on their joints.
• Cardio workout, happy heart – Playing pickleball provides an effective cardiovascular workout that gets your heart pumping in no time. This fun and fast-paced game—often feeling more like a friendly battle for "king of the court" bragging rights—can help improve heart health by lowering cholesterol levels and reducing blood pressure over time.
• Hand-eye exercise, happy mind – All that quick dinking, blocking, and reacting to surprise shots? That’s your brain and body working together in real time. Pickleball is a sneaky-good way to sharpen your reflexes, improve coordination and cognitive skills, and keep your mind just as active as your feet.
• Improve mental health, happy brain – Not only does your body benefit from playing pickleball, but your brain gets a boost too. Moving around releases endorphins, those feel-good chemicals that help melt away stress and lift your mood. Plus, the social fun and friendly competition on the court make it a great recipe for keeping your mental health in tip-top shape…unless you get your heart broken from falling in love with someone way out of reach at the other end of the court💔.
• Connect people together, happy life – Pickleball isn’t just about winning points—it’s about making connections. At a time when the U.S. is facing a loneliness epidemic, sharing a laugh, a rally, or even a friendly rivalry on the court can go a long way toward building meaningful relationships and a happier life.

 

Embrace the pickleball addiction

You're already hooked—might as well dress like it, live like it, and gift like it. Check out PickleballGoats.com for funny shirts, paddle-themed goodies, and gift ideas that every pickleball lover (yes, including you) will want to dink about.

References

Paddletek Pickleball. (2022). Health Benefits of Playing Pickleball That May Surprise You. https://www.paddletek.com/blogs/news/pickleball-health-benefits#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20for%20the%20most,or%20five%20times%20a%20week

Pickleball Union. (2024). How Much Pickleball is Right Each Week?. https://pickleballunion.com/how-much-pickleball-each-week/

The Dink Pickleball. (2025). Report: Pickleball Participation Surges to Nearly 20 Million in 2024. https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/report-pickleball-participation-surges-to-nearly-20-million-in-2024/ 

Health. (2024). Is Pickleball a Good Workout? 6 Benefits for Your Body and Mind. https://www.health.com/health-benefits-of-pickleball-8738026

Renown Health. (2023). Top 5 Health Benefits of Pickleball. https://www.renown.org/blog/benefits-of-pickleball

Anytime Fitness. (2024). The Power of Play – 6 Pickleball Health Benefits. https://www.anytimefitness.com/blog/6-health-benefits-of-playing-pickleball

Tee Shop USA. (n.d.). How Many Days a Week Should You Play Pickleball?. https://www.teeshopusa.com/blogs/the-blog/how-many-days-a-week-should-you-play-pickleball?srsltid=AfmBOor08HHDJY1IgRSGpnlvU9OsXnbj7d1Vhm1LIzIzGZs8XOnHuvRA