It was the summer of pickleball in Iowa, and courts were popping up everywhere, even on farms

The plastic pop of a pickleball was a familiar sound this summer. Players across the state paddled the hollow, perforated balls in parks, recreation centers and even sports bars outfitted with their own sets of courts. They laughed, shouted and raced across courts freshly painted with extra pickleball lines, arms outstretched to make match point over the lowered nets. They joined leagues, took lessons and made friends over the satisfying crunch of the ball making contact with their paddles, which came in a myriad of different colors and designs.

In recent years, pickleball has become extremely popular across the country and has maintained its dominance as the fastest growing sport in America. Although the game, an addictive and fast-paced cross between tennis, badminton and table tennis, is not new (it was invented in the 60s) the sudden increase in popularity has led to sports fields springing up all over Iowa, meeting the demand from players young and old who flock to parks and recreation centers to try their luck.

It can be competitive. It can be social. It can be anything you want it to be, said Stephanie Mehmen, CEO of Gherkin Palacewhich opened in January in the Kingston Yard area of ​​Cedar Rapids.

The restaurant and event space is equipped with four indoor and two outdoor pickleball courts, and Mehmen said the business has been “amazing” during their first summer. Their leagues fill up quickly and their location is bustling, with a new Big Grove next door and a green space for live music and entertainment right outside.

Mehmen said pickleball was generally popular among older Iowans, but it was also gaining more traction among younger people than expected.

We initially thought it would be an older demographic, that older generation would come and play during the day. We've found that it's a lot of younger people, young business people, a lot of families that want to spend their weekends here, she said. I think it's a younger demo than we thought, but we're definitely, thankfully, as busy as we hoped.

She attributes the sport’s recent surge in popularity to how easy it is to pick up. It appeals to people of all ages and athletic abilities, it’s fairly affordable to start playing, and there are a growing number of low-stakes social settings like Pickle Palace that serve as spaces to learn how to play.

As summer draws to a close, indoor spaces are becoming increasingly popular. Dinks Pickleball in Des Moines opened last fall with 13 indoor courts to help meet the need. Indoor courts can also be found throughout the state at recreation centers and clubs. However, these spaces are overwhelmingly available only for a fee, often with a waiting list, and only in abundance in urban areas, such as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport.

But pickleball has also taken hold in rural Iowa, where older Iowans are looking for a fun way to stay active. As winter approaches, retired telephone line installer Dave Flexsenhar and his wife, Mary Beth, will soon stop their weekly visits to the courts at the park, three miles from their Winthrop farm.

In the early 2000s, the farm was home to 100 head of cattle, raised by Mary Beth’s brother, and the barn was filled with hay. Now, the downstairs of the barn, estimated to be 75 years old, and the adjoining barn are museums of dusty relics—fences, equipment, Flexsenhars’ old running medals, and winter sleds, sleepily guarded by three female farm cats (Peanut Butter, Fluff, and Carl). But up narrow steps and through a trapdoor, Flexsenhars has been fashioned, the upper hayloft stripped of old cabinets and four-wheeler parts and outfitted with a regulation-size pickleball court. During the winter, the couple plays at least once a week with a small group of friends.

“It’s a fun way to get exercise and hang out with your friends,” Flexsenhar said from the edge of the blue field, his voice echoing under the barn’s high, vaulted roof. There’s a basketball net over one end of the room and a collection of balls in the corner for his 12 grandchildren to play with when they visit.

And yes, there is an indoor court in a city in Manchester. Drive ten miles and there is another in Aurora. But those courts are not always free and Flexsenhar says it is more convenient this way.

“If we have to do that, we have to put up our net. We don't have permanent borders. We use temporary markers,” he said. “This way, it's all here, and it's easy.”

Flexsenhar says he's not the only one thinking about converting his barn into a court, and he's happy to share it with his friends. When they get together, the attic fills with whining and groaning, tennis shoe squeaking, and lots of good-natured cursing. They've even made their own shirts mocking themselves and their most popular court sayings: “Were you [server] “One or two?” “What's the score?” and “Who just served?”

“We play for fun, but we play seriously,” Flexsenhar said. “But when it's over, you don't know if you won or lost.”