Can Pickleball Help With Loneliness? What a New Study Shows

Quick Answer: A national survey published in the Journal of Primary Care and Community Health found that adults 50 and older who currently play pickleball had the lowest odds of reporting loneliness, while people who quit playing had nearly double the odds. The study shows association, not proof of cause, and its authors call for a controlled trial. Findings as of the October 2025 publication.

Loneliness in older adults is a health problem with a body count, linked in prior research to heart disease, dementia, and early death. A research team led by Jordan D. Kurth, with co-authors from Penn State College of Medicine and North Carolina State University among others, surveyed 825 US adults aged 50 and up and asked a simple question underneath the statistics: are the people who play this game less lonely than the people who do not?

What Did the Study Actually Find?

The survey split its 825 respondents, averaging about 61 years old, into three groups: 415 with no pickleball history, 144 former players, and 266 who still play. Rather than a single yes-or-no question, the researchers used a validated three-item loneliness scale, counting a respondent as lonely if any of its items came back as happening some of the time or often.

Three findings stand out. First, loneliness was everywhere in the sample: 56.6 percent of all respondents reported being lonely. Second, current pickleball players carried the lowest odds of loneliness of the three groups studied. Compared to current players, people who had never played had 1.53 times the odds of reporting loneliness, after the researchers adjusted for age, sex, physical activity level, smoking, and a long list of chronic conditions including arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.

Third, and most surprising, former players fared worst of all. People who had played pickleball and stopped carried 1.95 times the odds of loneliness compared to current players, a larger gap than the never-played group showed. Walking away from the game was associated with more loneliness than never having found it.

Why Would a Paddle Sport Affect Loneliness?

The study’s social connection numbers point at the mechanism. The current-player group reported an average of 3.6 social connections made through pickleball itself, against 1.6 in the former-player group. The game’s structure does the work: doubles is the default format, open play rotates strangers onto your court every fifteen minutes, and the kitchen puts four people within conversation distance for most of a rally.

That matches what the sport looks like from inside. The pieces on why pickleball makes people happy and the friendships the game produces cover the lived version of what this survey measured in odds ratios.

What Does the Study Not Prove?

Causation. The authors say so directly: as a retrospective cross-sectional survey, the study can establish only association. It cannot rule out that less lonely, more social people are simply the ones who take up and stick with pickleball in the first place, and the authors note that a personality trait like extraversion could drive both the playing and the connecting.

The sample has limits too. Respondents came from an online panel, ran more educated than the national average, and reported better mobility than national data for the age group, so the results describe internet-connected, relatively healthy older adults rather than everyone over 50. Half the sample was recruited specifically for having played pickleball, which does not mirror the general population. The authors’ own next step is a randomized controlled trial to test whether taking up the game actually reduces loneliness.

What Is the Practical Takeaway for Players Over 50?

Two things, and the second is the one the numbers underline. Starting is associated with better odds, and continuing appears to matter even more, given that the former-player group reported the most loneliness of any group. A player forced off the court by a sore knee or a schedule change loses the standing game, the group chat, and the courtside hour along with the exercise.

That argues for building the social layer deliberately rather than treating it as a side effect: join a recurring group instead of relying on drop-in luck, and if injury interrupts play, stay attached to the community while recovering. The guides to finding a regular partner and how open play works cover the mechanics, and for older adults weighing the sport against a solo routine, the comparison of pickleball and walking for older adults is the relevant read.

How Does This Fit the Wider Research on Pickleball and Health?

It adds a social measurement to a picture that has mostly been physical. Prior coverage of pickleball and mental health and the benefits for seniors leaned on exercise science and smaller studies. This survey is among the first national attempts to quantify the loneliness association specifically, with 825 respondents and adjustment for the obvious confounders, which is what makes it worth writing about despite the limits above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does playing pickleball reduce loneliness?

The study found an association, not proof. Adults 50 and older who currently played reported the lowest odds of loneliness, and people who never played had 1.53 times those odds. Whether the game causes the difference or social people gravitate to the game cannot be settled by this design.

Who ran the pickleball loneliness study?

A team led by Jordan D. Kurth with co-authors including researchers from Penn State College of Medicine and North Carolina State University. It appeared in the Journal of Primary Care and Community Health in October 2025 as a national survey of 825 US adults aged 50 and up.

What was the most surprising finding?

Former players were the loneliest group, with 1.95 times the odds of loneliness compared to current players, worse than people who never played at all. The authors also measured fewer social connections from the sport in that group, 1.6 on average against 3.6 for current players.

How many people in the study were lonely?

56.6 percent of the full sample reported being lonely, which tracks with wider research on loneliness among older adults. That baseline is part of why the gaps between playing groups drew the researchers’ attention.

Does this apply to players under 50?

The study only surveyed adults 50 and older, so its numbers say nothing directly about younger players. The social structure of the game, doubles play and rotating open play, is the same at every age, but the loneliness association has not been measured below 50.

What are the study’s main weaknesses?

It cannot show causation, the online panel ran more educated and healthier than the national average, and half the sample was recruited for prior pickleball experience. The authors flag all of this and call for a randomized controlled trial as the next step.

How do I actually find a pickleball community near me?

Start with a recurring group rather than one-off sessions. Local clubs run standing open play, leagues put the same people on your calendar weekly, and a beginner clinic drops you into a cohort learning together. The directories below list all three by location.

Should I keep playing if I have an injury?

Talk with your doctor first about what your body can handle. The study’s former-player finding is a reason to stay connected to the community during recovery, watching sessions, keeping the group chat, or refereeing, even when playing has to pause.

Finding the game is the easy half, and finding the people is what the numbers say matters. Browse pickleball clubs near you, look for a recurring spot through the leagues directory, or start with a session from the camps and clinics listings.

*This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your own health before starting a new sport.

Written by the Pickler Junction Team.