Racket Sports May Be Serving Up More Than Just a Good Time

Recent AARP surveys have found that despite widespread understanding that exercise is beneficial to many aspects of good health, many adults 50-plus aren't nearly as physically active as they could be. However, there is an ever-growing number of older adults who often play racket sports — “Pickleball anyone?”

A recent AARP survey explores possible connections between engaging in racket sports, one’s overall health, and the use of health-related technology.

The survey finds about one in 10 (9%) of the 50-plus population says they play pickleball at least on occasion, followed by 7 percent who say they play tennis, with fewer indicating they play paddle tennis (5 percent) or some other racket sport (5 percent).

Many older adults age 50 and older who play some sort of racket sport at least occasionally are more likely than those who do not play one to rate their health as excellent across the following domains:

• Emotional health (27 percent of players vs. 16 percent of nonplayers)
• Mental health (29 percent vs. 18 percent)
• Brain health/mental sharpness (23 percent vs. 14 percent)
• Physical health (14 percent vs. 5 percent)

Technology and racket sports

There may be a connection between playing racket sports and technology use. While less than 2 in 5 (38 percent) older adults who play racket sports say they use technology to access courts/games, the majority (55 percent) say they use technology to monitor their physical activity. This is significantly more than the 2 in 5 (41%) nonracket sport players who say they use technology to monitor their physical activity.

Methodology

The findings come from an AARP Omni online survey of 1,013 adults age 50-plus fielded in September 2024. The national sample was weighted by age, gender, and race/ethnicity.

For more information, please contact Cheryl Lampkin at clampkin@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.