Pickleball might be among the fastest-growing sports around.
One doctor has even gone as far as to call the game a "drug" -- suggesting some weekend warriors and retirees will chase a game at all costs.
That includes overlooking injuries in the name of returning to the court.
According to the New York Post, 19.8 million people played pickleball in 2024 - a 311% increase since 2021, per the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
Injuries have come with that phenomenal growth.
"Across the board, there's an uptick," Dr. James Gladstone, the chief of sports medicine at NYC's Mount Sinai Health System, and an orthopedic consultant for the U.S. Open, told the Post.
Medical experts say the injury surge is driven by sheer numbers, but also by the game's demographics: Quasi-fit retirees who play hours a day and weekend warriors who skip warmups and cooldowns to maximize their time on the court.
Injuries such as Achilles ruptures, torn menisci, fractured wrists, elbow and shoulder ailments typically arise from falls or simple overuse.
"People tend to approach pickleball the same way they approach life, [with] a lot of passion, a lot of gusto," said Gladstone, who pointed to studies like one published in the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine in January 2025, which charted a 41% increase in pickleball-induced injuries between 2020 and 2021 alone.
Dr. Timothy Charlton said pickleball injuries have become so common, he hardly needs to look at a patient to diagnose them.
"If a 65-year-old woman comes in with an acute pickleball injury, it's an Achilles rupture until proven otherwise," the orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Hills, Calif., said.
"Pickleball is a drug," he told the Post. "Bone will be sticking out of the skin and the person who had the accident will be like, 'Hey, doc, how long is this going to take to heal ... how (long until I) can get back on the court?'"
When it comes to injury, fashion takes some blame, too.
Dr. Michael Dakkak, an orthopedic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic's branch in Palm Beach, Fla., recalled a patient who was so focused on having her paddle colour match her shoe colour that she neglected the basics of proper fit.
"She felt she didn't perform as well when those things didn't match," he said, adding that her fashion-first approach left her with a knee arthritis flare-up after a marathon weekend tournament.
Doctors say that players can take simple steps to minimize injury. Gladstone prescribes a basic maintenance program of stretching, strength work and cardio, while Dakkak insists on court shoes, not running shoes.