HEAD “fall in love” with pickleball as sales quadruple in 2023

Sales of HEAD pickleball products have more than quadrupled this year – and the brand’s UK staff admit they have “fallen in love” with the sport.

In the UK market, HEAD sells tennis, padel, pickleball and squash equipment (rackets/paddles, bags, footwear, grips and strings) – but pickleball has been its fastest growing sales category in 2023.

The figures are yet more proof of pickleball’s staggering growth in the UK as it capitalises on its accessibility to many different demographics, low cost and the ease with which new players can enjoy and learn the game.

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HEAD UK’s Racketsports Category Manager, Dave Hillier, told Pickleball 52: “The fact that our pickleball sales have more than quadrupled this year is so exciting. It shows what a great journey pickleball is on and how much the sport has grown in quite a short space of time. It’s testament to everybody involved – players, coaches, volunteers and the governing bodies, Pickleball England and Pickleball Scotland.

“We had budgeted for X in pickleball sales and we have done four times that amount – that just shows the rate at which pickleball is capturing people’s imaginations. They’re picking up a padel and taking advantage of the fact that it’s such an easy sport to play.

“We saw what was coming to an extent and brought in pickleball products in in 2019, starting from small numbers. We’ve grown with the sport and going forward we want to make sure we’re not just following the other brands but leading the way in new materials, innovations and technologies. We’ve got the resources, infrastructure and staffing to keep growing with the sport. As a company, we’re very excited about it.”

Dave (pictured above, right) is one of several HEAD UK staff members who discovered pickleball through work but have now become passionate players and advocates. Promotions Manager Katie Morris (pictured centre) took part in the recent English Nationals in Bolton and played in stage three of the PEAK European Pickleball League in Hampshire in November. Sales Manager Oliver Tyrell (pictured left) also played in Bolton.

“We’re all getting hooked,” laughed Dave. “We’re excited from a business point of view but it’s become a personal passion for a lot of us in the company as well. We all discovered it four or five years ago through work, and now we’ve all fallen in love with the sport.”

HEAD sponsored the summer’s English Open in Telford and are seeking to sponsor next year’s English Open too. The brand is also official ball and equipment partner of Pickleball Scotland.

Dave predicts that HEAD’s pickleball products may overtake its sales of squash equipment in the near future. But pickleball’s keenest rivalry is, of course, with padel – and pickleball’s rate of growth is outstripping padel in HEAD’s sales figures for this year.

Dave feels pickleball has several advantages as the rival pursuits battle for market share in the racket sports world.

“I’m not sure padel hits all the demographics that pickleball does in terms of age, ability, accessibility and cost. Pickleball has that never-ending appeal across the whole spectrum.

“The advantage it has over all the other racket sports, and I’d include padel in this, is that you can start playing immediately. You only need to find your nearest sports hall. And as soon as you start, you’re playing straight away. It’s so easy to learn. That puts it in such a strong position.

“What strikes me so much about the pickleball world is that everyone is in it for the right reasons, everyone wants to spread the love of the sport and get as many people as they can on court. Even if you’re not very good, you will be stull be made very welcome. This is a sport for everyone – that’s why pickleball is capturing people’s imaginations.”

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