Pickleball’s Popularity Puts a New Spin on Retail

Pickleball seems to be everywhere. A kind of tennis meets badminton meets ping-pong hybrid, it’s been described as the “fastest-growing sport in the United States.”

Relatively easy to play with a paddle, a lightweight perforated ball, and a 36-inch-high net, the sport has been around since the mid-1960s, but over the past few years and particularly during the pandemic, there has been an explosion of interest all across the nation.

Hoping to tap into this zeitgeist are Santa Barbara Pickleball Shop founders Carlos Ruiz, Mark Cardona, and Erik Villagomez.