Twin Cities women embrace pickleball as sport's popularity surges

It's a sport that's five times bigger than it was in 2020. Pickleball is growing particularly fast among women.

The gender split is nearing 50/50.

At Lucky Shots Pickleball in northeast Minneapolis, women can find a league of their own.

"It originated up by Seattle, and the guy who created it, his dog's name was Pickles," Mary Shuman of New Brighton, Minnesota, said.

The creator's family dog was named Pickles, but the sport was named after rowing. A pickleboat is a leftover boat, and pickleball is seen as using the leftover parts of badminton, tennis and ping pong.

Sixty years after its Washington state origin, it's a hit across America, including in Minnesota.

"It's just fun. Keeps you off the streets," Shuman said.

At 73, Shuman is a regular.

"My parents lived to be, like, 98, and they were very athletic. And it's like, if they can do it, so do I. So I choose to live like they do," she said.

Shuman says she plays five days a week, four hours a day.

Fun is a big part of the weekly Women's Wednesdays at Lucky Shots.

"I wanna come in here, I wanna have a good time. I wanna play with all these amazing ladies every week. It is addicting," Heidi Hiltos of Minneapolis said. "Once you start, you're gonna wanna come, I think I started out playing maybe one day a week, and you move up to three, four days a week and you just build a really great community."

The community is grooving and growing. Shawn Hester, the director of operations at Lucky Shots, said the split between men and women at the business is close to 50/50. He added that women's leagues at the facility quickly fill up and the competition is fierce.

"I'm a 41-year-old male and I've been humbled by a 75-year-old female on the court very quickly," Hester said.

Welcomed defeat in a place, in a game, where female power is welcome.

"Just getting out there and empowering each other, really watching sports for women be so big right now," Hiltos said. "You've got the Lynx that are doing great right now. The women are really just moving up in the world when it comes to sports. And I think it's such an amazing thing to see because it is empowering. It does teach us that we can get out there; we have that ability to push boundaries, to be strong, independent and I think it's amazing, love every second of it."

Lucky Shots has women's leagues every Wednesday. In March, it has a large women's tournament called A Paddle of Their Own.