If Apple features a pickleball emoji in the upcoming release of iOS 19, it might be because Nick O’Brien is leading the charge to finally make it a reality.

The President and Chief Operating Officer of TeachMe.To - a platform that facilitates the booking of lessons by connecting students with coaches - launched a petition in mid-April on Change.org for Apple to approve its pickleball emoji design.

According to a Times of San Diego story by Serena Neumeyer published on Thursday, O'Brien is seeking 25,000 signatures so pickleball can assume its rightful place among the other sports-related emojis that are currently available for use on iPhones.

"It’s the fastest growing sport in the U.S., and even more so, it has outsized growth here in San Diego and Southern California as a whole because you can play year-round and you’ve got a racket sports community here," said O’Brien. "But all these people, tens of millions of people, are using a ping pong emoji and tennis makeshift emojis every time they’re texting or tweeting about it."

He believes that a dedicated emoji could lead to even more chatter about a game that has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years.

Pickleball enthusiasts would undoubtedly use it at every opportunity.

"It’s going to change the way people are able to actually communicate about the sport," added O’Brien. "Even obscure sports like curling or all those Olympic sports have an emoji, so we think it’s finally time that pickleball gets recognized."

Neumeyer reports that TeachMe.To created its emoji with graphic designer Michael Celedonia and presented it to Apple.

Thankfully, the final product doesn't feature a pickle (🥒) or ping pong (🏓) emoji. 

"O’Brien stresses how the absence of a pickleball emoji forces players to fight an uphill battle just to be seen online," writes Neumeyer. "By having a paddle-ball emoji of their own, he says it will instantly validate the sport and ensure a language online that reflects the culture."

Fingers crossed that this initiative is successful.

It would bring smiles to a lof faces.

“It’s well over half of people who regularly use emojis daily in communication. So if they’re doing that and they’re playing pickleball, then they should want there to be a pickleball emoji to express themselves,” said O’Brien. “I would ask people if they’ve ever picked up a pickleball paddle or been on a pickleball court this year, they should help us get that.”

The petition has gathered over 50 signatures to date.

To join the movement for an official pickleball emoji, click here.