Importance of playing pickleball for older adults’ subjective well-being: A serious leisure perspective

Abstract

Pickleball, a paddle sport, is the fastest-growing sport in the US. As pickleball has been specifically popular among older adults, there is a growing interest in understanding its positive aspects. Therefore, this study explored the relation between financial status, loneliness, serious leisure, and subjective well-being (SWB) among older adults. In southern states in the US, a convenience sample of older adults who participated in pickleball competitions was recruited (n = 153). From hierarchical regression analyses, we found that (a) serious leisure significantly predicted SWB, (b) financial status was not related to SWB, and (c) loneliness was not related to SWB. We suggest that playing pickleball as a form of serious leisure may add significant value to older adults’ daily lives and contribute to successful aging.

Keywords:

• Pickleball
• physical activity
• subjective well-being
• serious leisure