Pickleball is one of the most popular sports in the world today. Researchers have discovered that it is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, and is extremely popular among people of all age groups.
Still, although pickleball is one of the most popular sports among young people, it is incredibly popular among senior citizens! In this article, we are going to look more closely at some of the oldest pickleball players in the world, and what got them into playing this super fun sport.
Let’s get right into it.
3 Oldest Pickleball Players in the World
3. Ryo Shinagawa
Age: 72 or 73
Location: Corona, California, United States of America
Status: Alive
Photo Source: CNBC
Ryo Shinagawa is another one of the oldest pickleball players in the world. He began playing pickleball after in 2016, and found that transitioning into playing this game was easier than he expected. The reason for this is that Shinagawa was a tennis player for much of his life. He got into playing pickleball after seeing an advertisement for a seniors’ center in his city, and decided to check it out.
After playing one game, Shinagawa was hooked, and has since spent his time playing pickleball regularly.
Did you know?
Shinagawa is a certified pickleball instructor and a USA Pickleball ambassador.
2. Beth Henry
Age: 73 or 74
Location: Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States of America
Status: Alive
Photo Source: CNBC
Beth Henry is another person from Loma Linda that enjoys playing pickleball. She started playing pickleball in her 70s, and found that it was a greater challenge for her than it was for other women her age. The reason for this was that she had never played any kind of organized sport before, and found that doing so was quite a challenge!
She started playing pickleball because many of her friends were getting into playing it, and she wanted to join in, and after several games, found that she enjoyed it as much as they did. Henry has stated that playing pickleball has made her take better care of her physical health.
Did you know?
Beth Henry formed a subgroup with some girlfriends, and their group is called Chickleball!
1. Mailen Kootsey
Age: 83 or 84
Location: Redlands, California United States of America
Status: Alive
Photo Source: Business Insider
Mailen Kootsey is the oldest pickleball player in the world. He lives in Redlands, California, in a place called Loma Linda. Loma Linda is known for providing older people with a ton of fun activities to do, pickleball being one of them!
Kootsey has played pickleball for several years now, and is well-known in his community as someone that plays this game often for fun. He started playing it after a friend suggested trying it out for fun, and came to find that he preferred pickleball over tennis. Kootsey also plays pickleball to stay fit and active, and has said that it had made him physically stronger than other men his age!
Did you know?
Mailen Kootsey’s pickleball group worked with the city of California to develop pickleball courts.
Conclusion
In this article, we took a closer look at three of the world’s oldest pickleball players. As these three senior citizens have shown us, it’s so easy to take care of your physical health, and pickleball might just be the way to do it. It has helped all three of them maintain their health, get outside to get some air, and look amazing while doing it! We hope that you’ll give pickleball a shot if you haven’t already, and we hope you enjoyed reading this article.
