One of the best things about pickleball is its accessibility.

You can be from any walk of life, show up to a court with a $20 paddle, and play alongside people with $200 paddles.

You can also wear your most comfortable workout clothes and enjoy America's fastest-growing sport at a local park for free. 

There’s no exclusivity or high barrier of entry to play pickleball. You don’t need country club access or expensive gear. You can have it, but it’s definitely not a necessity to hit the 20x44.

Or at least, that’s how the game started. 

Pickleball's popularity continues to rise, and more and more people from a variety of different socioeconomic backgrounds are taking up the game.

I’m the first to advocate for better pickleball clothing, higher quality gear, and overall fashionable and aesthetically pleasing elements of the sport because that’s the kind of pickleball player I am. Give me a functional but nice court, an adorable tennis dress, and comfortable but fashionable shoes, and I’m a happy player. 

But how far is too far?

Pickleball courts are being installed on yachts, on luxury ski resorts for après-ski, and in multi-million dollar homes across the world. 

Pickleball exclusive clubs and facilities are becoming the new norm in response to the national court shortage with too many players and not enough courts. And these facilities come at an especially high price.  

There are also some key figureheads of luxury fashion in the picklesphere.

Take a look at Genie Bouchard, who has a taste for the finer things in life. 

Her luxury brand outfits are often showcased and featured in media outlets like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit when she’s dressed to the nines on her way to compete at a pickleball tournament. She elevates the game one look at a time.

Another figurehead, Leigh Waters, coach and mom of Anna Leigh Waters, is guaranteed to wear some sort of Gucci look while sitting courtside. Given how many eyes are on Leigh and Anna Leigh, their fashion can impact the sport as a whole. 

But between countless celebrities playing pickleball and financial tycoons getting involved, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before pickleball officially becomes high class - though this is not inherently a negative. The more money that’s poured into the sport, the better the equipment, the better the pros, the better the venues, etc. 

The funny thing is that pickleball as a whole is not luxurious. Pro pickleball isn’t sponsored by Rolex or NetJets. The president of Stack Athletics, Jeremy Neff, said it best when he noted that, right now, “pickleball is to tennis what snowboarding was to skiing back in the day.”

Pickleball is the underdog, the gritty newcomer on the scene with a lot of energy and the desire to upset the tradition of other racket sports. That culture is beautifully highlighted during electrifying MLP events.

Spectators are not showing up in their finest fits hoping to get spotted by the paparazzi. Or at least, we’re not there yet. 

But, we want to be careful about exclusivity. I think one of the most beautiful things about pickleball is the inclusivity, how anyone, any ability, and with any budget can play. Sure, let’s elevate the fashion game and put pickleball courts on beaches because who doesn’t want to dink with a beautiful backdrop? But pickleball should never be a sport reserved only for the elite. 

Pickleball as a culture shouldn’t get too carried away with keeping up with the tennis Joneses. That’s a battle we’ll never win. At the end of the day, if pros, coaches, and players want to wear their diamonds to play, then who are we to judge? I just hope to get invited to a pickleball court on a yacht.