Is pickleball an indoor or outdoor sport? Currently, it’s both. Across the nation, pickleball courts are housed in local parks, converted tennis courts, backyards, and in some epic indoor facilities. 

At this point, it’s safe to say that pickleball is a sport that gets moved inside as soon as inclement weather hits like rain, snow, or extreme heat. Simply put, the game isn't easily adaptable for outside play when mother nature gets dicey.  

But, there’s a general consensus that people would rather play pickleball outside. After all, most amateur players are cooped up in their offices and homes, so pickleball is the perfect excuse to get outside, sweat a little bit, get some sun, and breathe some fresh air. 

For the pros, indoor play can severely impact the game when it comes to artificial and imbalanced lighting. Rising star Grayson Goldin shared his hot take: pickleball should be a strictly indoor sport at the high level. 

“If you want to see extremely high-level pickleball, I think playing indoors is better,” said Goldin.

He argues that the ball itself is one of the lightest of any outdoor sport, so it can easily be manipulated by a variety of outside factors. 

“The wind can really be a factor because the movement of the ball is affected by the wind. I don’t think there’s an outdoor sport that’s played with such a light ball. Any outdoor sport has a heavy, dense ball,” noted Goldin. “Think about tennis, the ball is heavier. Golf, the ball is pretty solid and dense. Badminton and squash, those are heavier as well. But, ping pong has a lighter ball like pickleball does. And ping pong is played inside because the ball is so light. Playing ping pong outside is extremely difficult because the ball is so easily affected by the wind, so at the high level, it’s an inside sport.”

Even for the most casual of outdoor pickleball players is annoyed when the wind picks up and moves the perfectly placed shot. Now imagine that at the pro level? That must be extremely frustrating when their game, reputation, and livelihoods are on the line. 

“The scale of the pickleball court is smaller, so it’s probably one of the toughest margins in any outdoor sport,” added Goldin. “When you’re playing with small margins with a court that small, and factors like the wind impacting the game, I think that the sport should be played indoors. But, I understand that the infrastructure is not there.”

There is already a national pickleball court shortage, but when that number shrinks to less than half of that because play has to move inside, it makes getting court time even more competitive.

When factors like the wind impact the game, does that make players who get those victories all the more elite because they can adapt no matter the conditions? Or does it throw too much randomness and room for unwarranted error into the mix? Does the weather negatively impact the integrity of the game?

In any pro sport, resiliency is key. And right now, pickleball pros are certainly resilient. When players can beat the odds and get lucky with some wind direction in their favor, I think it makes for an exciting watch.  

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