Eye Injuries Among Pickleball Players on the Rise: Study

About 20 million Americans play pickleball.

Pickleball players participate in the 2025 U.S. Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Fla., on May 3, 2025. Bruce Yeung/Getty Images

There are more eye injuries being recorded among pickleball players, according to a new study.

Of the 3,112 estimated pickleball-related eye injuries recorded between 2014 and 2024, 1,262 took place in 2024 alone, researchers wrote in the paper, which was published by JAMA Ophthalmology on Oct. 16.

The researchers estimated that the incidence of injuries increased by 405 cases annually from 2021 to 2024.

“This study found that pickleball-related eye injuries have increased at an alarming rate over the past [four] years as the sport continues to grow in popularity,” Dr. Corey Lacher, of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, and his coauthors wrote.

They noted that eye protection is not at this time required for casual or professional pickleball games, and they recommended the creation of standard guidance for eye protection to reduce eye injuries from the sport.

Pickleball has been soaring in popularity in recent years. Participation jumped by 311 percent from 2021 to 2024, when 19.8 million Americans played, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.

Pickleball is played with paddles and a plastic ball with holes in it. The court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long. Players are often positioned about 14 feet from opponents.

About 20 percent of professional pickleball players and 54.5 percent of amateurs use protective eyewear, according to a recent survey.

USA Pickleball, pickleball’s national governing body, in 2024 rejected a proposal to mandate some form of eye protection at events sanctioned by the body.

“The use of eye protection is a good idea and should be recommended but it is not appropriate to mandate it,” USA Pickleball stated at the time. “It would be extremely difficult logistically to enforce a mandatory eye protection requirement.”

Proponents of the proposal support the adoption of a policy on the use of eye protection for the sport because eye injuries have increased, and playing without eye protection leaves players at risk.

USA Pickleball did not respond to a request for comment on the new study.

More on Findings

Lacher and other researchers looked at data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The database covers some hospitals in the United States.

The sample was created by selecting patients who presented to emergency departments with pickleball-related eye injuries from 2005 to 2024, then conducted a data analysis from October 2024 to July 2025.

They found 73 documented eye injuries related to pickleball. The researchers then used models to arrive at national estimates on an annual basis.

The researchers said that few injuries were recorded before 2021, when injuries began increasing. There were large increases in 2022, 2023, and 2024, with 1,262 estimated injuries occurring in 2024 alone, according to the study.

Seven out of 10 injuries that were documented in the sample occurred in players aged 50 or older.

Causes of the injuries included being struck by a pickleball or a paddle. Pickleballs can travel nearly 60 miles per hour when struck with modern paddles.

Some of the documented injuries were severe, such as retinal detachment and orbital fracture.

Limitations of the paper include the small sample size and a possible lack of recognition of pickleball-related eye injuries in earlier years of the database. One of the authors reported receiving money from Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision and other companies.