Pickleball safety for players 60 and older

What the data shows

Older players account for most pickleball trips to the emergency room. One research team went through 10 years of national ER data, from 2013 to 2022, and estimated 66,350 pickleball injuries. The average patient was 64. People aged 65 to 80 made up 61.1% of the total ^[1].

Falls caused 65.5% of those injuries, and fractures were the most common diagnosis ^[1]. If you read one other guide here, make it the one on falls.

An injury is also more likely to put an older player in the hospital. A second team looked at the same national data for 2020 to 2022. Admissions jumped 257% in that time, from 992 to 3,541 a year. After accounting for the type and site of the injury, players 65 and older were about two and a half times as likely to be admitted as younger ones ^[2].

The game can help

Here's the good news. Playing seems to build the things that keep older bodies upright. A small Canadian study compared 14 pickleball players with 14 non-players, all over 55. Both groups said they were about equally active, yet the players had better balance and stronger legs. The authors point out that poor balance is a risk factor for falls ^[3].

A randomized trial in Hong Kong went further. It took 72 adults who were pre-frail, with a median age of 67, and put half of them through 8 weeks of supervised pickleball. By the end, 42% of the pickleball group were no longer pre-frail. In the group that kept its usual routine, only 8% were. Chair stands, walking distance and quality of life all improved with pickleball ^[4].

Safer play

Take prevention seriously, and take your time if you're new. In a 2025 survey of 1,758 players, whose average age was 62.7, those who rated injury prevention as only somewhat important had about twice the odds of getting hurt. Fewer than 5 years of experience and more sessions a week also raised the odds ^[5].

Start each session with the warm-up, and on hot days read the heat guide before you head out.