Pickleball has taken over the world. Next up, the Brisbane Olympics

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Desperately searching for an outlet to escape the “dark time” inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Joey Wild never expected his foray into pickleball would lead him to the world stage.

But the Queensland talent is now daring to dream of an Olympics berth on home soil, with the sport pushing for inclusion in the Brisbane 2032 Games.

Since Wild discovered the game – combining elements of tennis and badminton, and played with paddles on a smaller court – while completing his electrical engineering degree in Texas, he has become one of Australia’s best.

Joey Wild is the No.1 ranked pickleball doubles player in Australia.

He is the nation’s top-ranked doubles player, and number three in singles.

With his heavyweight status on the line at the Sypik Australia National Pickleball League Invitational in Melbourne, which runs from December 4 to 7, Wild admits the pandemic lockdown in America took its toll.

“Being away from home, a lot of unknowns … playing pickleball helped me get out of that,” he said.

Pickleball was one of the few activities allowed to continue under lockdown protocols, leading to a spike of more than 30 million participants worldwide.

Now, Wild wants to see the concept showcased in sport’s biggest spectacle.

“It’s a sport of the people, and it kind of embodies what the Olympics has become these days – a very inclusive event. It’s a worldwide game, it’s the fastest-growing sport in so many countries,” he said.

“It’s trending in the right direction, and by the time 2032 comes around, hopefully it’s a sport that the majority of households in Australia will play.”

While an official Olympics bid is not believed to have been made, given that pickleball is yet to have a single worldwide governing body, this week’s invitational is the first competition under the Global Pickleball Alliance, bringing together leadership from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Pickleball Australia chief Ron Shell said moves to improve infrastructure and league experiences were under way to “make the sport impossible to ignore”.

“We’re talking about a sport that has grown five-fold in two years, is the number one sport by participation in North America, and – in line with an incredible boom in Asia – is on track to have more participants than many other sports in just a few years,” Shell said.

“The question soon will be: how is one of the most popular sports in the world not in the Olympics?”

Brisbane 2032’s program is expected to be confirmed by mid-2026, but south-east Queensland’s talent pool could support a last-ditch bid.

Wild is joined among the nation’s best by Gold Coast duo Harrison Brown (top-ranked men’s singles) and Danni-Elle Townsend (No.1 women’s doubles), and the Sunshine Coast’s Somer Dalla-Bona (top-ranked singles in Oceania).

According to Wild – who this year has competed in Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Japan – one factor in the state’s pickleball explosion has been accessibility.

“In Brisbane, we’re very fortunate that the council has decided to put courts in public parks where people can get exposure and show up to a park for free,” he explained, while lauding the establishment of Australia’s junior academy.

“If more councils across the country followed Brisbane’s lead ... it would pick up really quickly. There are different dedicated facilities popping up – a lot this year in Sydney and Melbourne that have attracted a lot of new players.

“The boom is starting now in Australia.”

In the US, elite players can earn six figures annually, with the average female pay for contracted professionals around $260,000.

Dalla-Bona, who made the jump to pickleball following her division-one college tennis pursuits at the Coastal Carolina University and Colorado State University, believed further growth in junior pathways would be needed for Australia to attain such heights.

That hope received a boost on Thursday, with a partnership confirmed between Tennis Australia and the NPL to support clubs, coaches and communities across Australia to expand access to both social and competitive play.

The union will focus on venue integration, innovative events, and inclusive participation programs.

“I think it will take a few years before pickleball in Australia reaches the professional level we see in America. We don’t yet have the same number of courts, centres, or crowd engagement,” Dalla-Bona said.

“But the sport is growing, and there’s definitely potential for it to develop into a professional pathway here. I’d love to see more juniors get involved, and for the game to continue building momentum in Australia.

“It’s exciting to think about where it could go in the next few years.”

As for Queensland’s dominance: “Many of the early adopters of pickleball live there, and training together every day has really elevated the standard,” Dalla-Bona said.

“When you’re surrounded by high-quality players and pushing each other constantly, improvement is inevitable.”