Pickleball: How One Year Has Taken a Toll on My 46-Year-Old Body
At 46, I’m no stranger to physical challenges. As a former competitive racquetball player, I’ve always played sports at the highest level I could. I’m not the guy who shows up to just casually hit the ball around. Whether it’s racquetball, weightlifting, or now pickleball, I bring a competitive intensity that demands extra effort. But in the past year since I picked up pickleball, it has beaten my body up in ways I didn’t see coming.
I got into pickleball because I was tired of running into walls in racquetball, both literally and figuratively. The smaller court and the lighter paddle seemed like they’d be kinder to my joints and muscles. How wrong I was. Over the past few months, my body has felt the toll of the sport. I’ve developed golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow, and a collection of aches and pains that I never had from weightlifting or even racquetball.
Here’s the thing: pickleball looks easy, especially to the casual observer. And sure, if you’re out there to have fun with friends and keep it light, you can probably avoid these issues. But that’s not me. I play to compete. I want to be good, and being good means going the extra mile—training harder, learning strategy, and playing against top-level competition.
The game is deceptively demanding. Competitive pickleball is fast-paced, with constant changes in direction, quick sprints
