‘Alarming’ Surge in Eye Injuries From Fastest-Growing US Sport

A growing number of Americans are sustaining serious eye injuries linked to pickleball, prompting ophthalmologists and researchers to call for safety guidelines as the sport’s popularity continues to surge.

A new study published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology analyzed nearly two decades of national emergency department data and found a sharp uptick in pickleball-related eye injuries—many of them severe—largely concentrated among older adults. Experts warn that without mandatory eye protection; players could risk permanent vision damage.

Between 2005 and 2024, an estimated 3,112 pickleball-related eye injuries occurred nationwide. Of those, more than 40 percent were reported in 2024 alone, researchers found after analyzing data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

From 2021 to 2024, the estimated annual number of eye injuries rose by about 405 cases each year, a trend researchers described as "alarming". Patients aged 50 and older accounted for 70 percent of those injuries, which ranged from retinal detachment and orbital fractures all the way to a ruptured globe.

"Last year, actress Michelle Pfeiffer and journalist Savannah Guthrie proudly displayed their pickleball-related eye injuries," Dr. Matthew Gorski, ophthalmologist at Northwell Health, said in a statement.

"And I think it was very important that they were spreading awareness of the potential dangers for pickleball and the real importance for wearing eye protection while playing pickleball.

“People often think of pickleball as an easier sport; it may be lower velocity compared to other types of racquet sports. But it's still a hard ball that moves fast. You're in close quarters and the court is much smaller than something like tennis. And I think that the damage that you can get, even in a lower velocity type of sport like pickleball, can cause significant problems."

America's Fastest-Growing Sport

Pickleball—a sport first invented in 1965 and played with short paddles and a perforated plastic ball—has rapidly become the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., particularly among older adults. The sport grew from some 3.5 million players in 2019 to nearly 20 million in 2024.

The rise in injuries may partly reflect the overall growth in participation, researchers noted, but they also pointed to other risk factors, especially among casual players.

Surveys indicate that casual players—defined as those who play fewer than eight times per year—make up the bulk of new participants. These players may be more susceptible to injury due to limited experience, unfamiliarity with the game or lower level of physical fitness, the study noted.

Injuries typically result from direct hits to the eye by a ball or paddle, or from falls.

"The eye injuries ranged from simple things like cuts around the eyes to bruising to more significant things like corneal abrasions or eye inflammation," Gorski said. "They also described more serious, potentially vision-threatening problems like retinal detachment, bleeding in the eye, and there was even a case of a ruptured globe."

The authors stressed the importance of addressing this risk now, especially given the sport’s rapid expansion and the "alarming rate" of eye injuries that it has led to over just four years.

They recommended standardized guidelines for eye protection to reduce the risk of future injuries.