Award-winning journalist and best-selling author Katie Couric absolutely adores pickleball. 

If you're among her 1.7 million followers on Instagram, though, you already know that because she has shared several posts showcasing her passion for America's fastest-growing sport.

Couric loves hitting the court for recreation and exercise... and for a good cause.

Case in point, this Stand Up To Cancer event that raised $70,000 for cancer research.

Couric love of pickleball was featured in the Sept. 28 edition of The New York Times in a weekly series called "Sunday Routine" that profiles newsworthy New Yorkers and how they spend their down time.

"How Katie Couric Spends Her Sundays" by writer Tammy LaGorce reveals the 67-year-old's penchant for picking up a paddle whenever she's at her East Hampton, NY home.

"I've been playing a ton of pickleball. I've made a whole new set of wonderful friends I really like through pickleball. They're local women, and women from the city, and it's just been really, really fun," explained Couric. "This is not your grandmother's pickleball. These women are intense. We sweat a lot and burn a ton of calories. They've raised my game significantly; I have a killer serve now. I go to Hampton Racquet. The people who run it are super nice, and it's super low-key and friendly. I'm not a country club person. It's a very relaxed environment."

It just so happens that "Pickleball Coach to the Stars" and PickleballTV broadcaster Matt Manassee might've helped develop Couric's "killer serve" too.

They've spent some time on the court together, so we'll need to ask Matt about that.

Stay tuned.