By: Madison Rosenberg, Community Journalist
Pickleball has been increasing in popularity, and the number of courts around South Jersey is increasing, but physical therapists say inadequate knowledge and excessive playing time send more players to their offices each season.
With eight new courts in Cherry Hill set to be constructed starting in the summer of 2026, they will continue to add to the sport’s widespread popularity. This construction also follows a trend among pickleball courts in South Jersey that are concentrated near Philadelphia or the shore.
Pickleball, a blend of regular tennis, table tennis, and badminton, can be played both indoors and outdoors, on a small court with a low net. Pickleball courts look similar to tennis courts, but are significantly smaller, requiring faster movement and less space to play.
Pickleball has been labeled the fastest-growing sport in America, but has also been subject to ridicule or dislike in the past. Despite criticisms, and as its popularity, audience, and number of court locations rise, so does the positive attitude towards the activity.
At Four Seasons Pickleball, a pickleball court located in Glassboro, New Jersey, a pickleball player and front desk associate, Noah Wood says that people just keep coming to play.
“Literally every day someone is coming in asking questions about pickleball and how to play here, what the rates are, I see new people every day,” said Wood.
Older audiences find community and accessibility in pickleball, as well as using the sport as a way to get back into exercising, according to Dr. Ken Cheng, who owns South Jersey Physical Therapy.
“It’s not as demanding as tennis, and it’s not as boring and typical as just going on a walk,” Cheng said. “People really get addicted to this sport because they feel they can start playing at any time, and they can find a new group of people that they share similar interests to. People love to belong and to feel like they’re improving themselves.”
At Four Seasons Pickleball, Wood says that people have tight-knit groups that they sometimes have been playing with for years, and they are extremely loyal to those groups.
“I see the same people play together literally all the time. Like, if one person doesn’t want to come, they all won’t come,” Wood said. “They find the people that they want to play with and will only play with them. I’ve seen new players come and make groups, and then they won’t come without them. It’s easy to get into this.”
Like any sport, however, pickleball comes with risk.
The Risks of Pickleball
Improper preparation and rest times can result in serious injury, especially in older participants who start playing because of the accessibility factor, unaware of the self-maintenance requirements outside of the court. The small court and 7-foot non-volley zone near the net, dubbed “the kitchen,” forces players to perform reactionary, intense, tight movements in a match.
According to Dr. Cheng, older audiences start playing pickleball at a time when their abilities start to slow down, and they underestimate the load management their bodies need to be capable of. Because the sport doesn’t require much athleticism and isn’t as demanding as tennis, there are some misconceptions that players don’t have to train and keep themselves balanced and agile when they aren’t playing a match.
“Fast-twitch muscles are the first things to decline once you get to your 50s and 60s”, said Cheng. “You basically stop doing things fast. I see clients that are going from sitting at a desk all day and doing simple things to this thing that is a higher load and pretty repetitive.”
Cheng says that some of his clients get somewhat addicted to the game, playing four or five hours at a time daily or almost daily, and not allowing adequate time in between playing or the next activity to let their bodies rest. Players sometimes feel accountable or guilty for missing days, especially if they get really involved in their local pickleball community, causing them to visit the courts more often than necessary.
“I see clients that have actually improved their mobility and strength after playing this sport,” Cheng said. “It’s the people who play for five hours a day after sitting at their desk, not warming up, and not much physical activity outside of pickleball, that I see coming in with new problems. We’re doing a knee workshop in the next few weeks because pickleball season is about to be in full swing.”
At Four Seasons, Wood also observes regular players stay on the courts until closing time.
“People are here all day,” said Wood. “There’s people that play from four until ten when we close. Six hours of playing. Then they come the next day and do it again. There’s people that are addicted to playing pickleball.”
When Wood plays pickleball, he only utilizes one or two hours of playing time, which won’t exert all of his energy in one day, but still gets him moving. According to Wood, people who play for extended periods never seem to get bored with the game, but beginners should start with less playing time.
When someone goes to the gym, they do slow movements that use their full range of motion, unlike pickleball, which uses only a small portion of someone’s range of motion, while also playing in ready positions that allow them to quickly change direction or jump at the ball, putting their joints to the test, according to Cheng.
Playing too much in one session can lead to joint overuse, causing pain. Doing slow, deep movement before a match can help prevent pain caused by pressure or quick movements of joints. The sport is low impact, but it’s the volume of playing that can cause issues, especially in older players.
Preventing Injury
If improper rest times and a lack of prior physical activity are combined with little to no maintenance training in between matches, how can people prevent injuries?
“Calisthenics, basic calisthenics, is a great way to measure current ability,” Cheng says. “Can you get up off the floor from laying down easily? Can you squat 10 to 15 times? If you can’t do at least five push-ups on your own, that is a high indication that you are prone to injury, you can’t hold your own weight.”
Yoga and Pilates are great ways to build strength and gain some ability before going into higher intensity workouts, especially ones that people are new to, so the likelihood of injury or pain is reduced, Cheng says. Starting something new can bring high rewards as long as proper precautions are taken to ensure safety.
“Pickleball isn’t dangerous; it’s just the poor preparation,” said Cheng. “Being able to expose yourself to bigger ranges of motion, starting to move in different ways…, it doesn’t have to be strenuous. The body has to get nourished, and movement nourishes the body. Starting something that brings you joy and taking up a variety of different movements is the most important thing.”
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