Pickleball in Pop Culture: Movies

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Pickleball, the fast-growing sport that was invented in 1965, is getting more and more popular and it’s now being mentioned in movies. There are pickleball movies made where the storyline focuses on the sport. If you’re interested in watching pickleball in movies, check out our list below.

Movies that Center on Pickleball

Princess Pickleball Movie (2023)

Starring 

Donald James Parker (who also directed and produced the film), Laura Fenton Kovanda, Dr. Roomie Maxey, Lee Martin, and many more.

Plot

The Princess Pickleball movie is about a lifetime tennis player, Thomas, who discovers that his favorite public venue was converted into pickleball courts. This incident ignited his dislike of the sport. He even mentioned that he doesn’t need pickleball to have companions and he would rather be the Lone Ranger. Eventually, he decided to try it out and found friends who were also around his age (seniors). This pickleball movie had some funny and informational dialogue, including one where one of the characters explained the difference between rally and volley.

Pickleball Princess from Donald James Parker on Vimeo.

Pickleball, the Movie (2024)

Starring 

Alison Wachlter, Elizabeth Dings, Jeremiah Kissel, Maureen Keiller, Ellen Colton, Steve Sweeney and Jim Patton.

Plot

Pickleball, the movie is a short movie about four almost-golden women who are friends. They entered their pickleball era and experienced a life of dinks, drinks, injuries, and pizzas. 

Movies that Mention Pickleball

Mother of the Bride (2024)

Starring

Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Sean Teale, Chad Michael Murray, Rachael Harris, and Benjamin Bratt

Plot

Mother of the Bride showed a whole scene of pickleball in the movie. This movie is about a woman named Lana whose daughter, Emma, is about to get married. It was a destination wedding in Thailand, sponsored by Emma’s job. There, they were met by Lana’s friends from Stanford. Lana also found out that the groom was her ex-boyfriend (who ghosted her in college) Will’s son. During preparations, they played doubles pickleball which resulted in funny interactions and bickering between Lana and Will, who both wanted to outshine the other. The game resulted in Lana hitting Will’s private parts with the ball. 

Lana and Will eventually resolved their past issues and the wedding was successful (despite the planning issues). During the bouquet toss, Will caught it for Lana and finally proposed to her.

The Idea of You (2024)

Starring 

Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine

Plot

The Idea of You centers on Solène, a divorced 40-year-old art gallery owner, and Hayes, a member of a famous band. The story was about their unexpected love affair. At the beginning of the film, Solène dropped her teen daughter and her friends at her ex-husband’s, Daniel's house. Daniel mentioned pickleball in the movie when he tried to invite Solène to dinner or play the sport, saying it was easy to learn and she didn’t even have to be athletic to play it. Solène indirectly declined.

Solène accompanied her daughter Izzy and her friends to Coachella when Daniel was unable to, where she met Hayes. Their love affair started, but their 16-year age difference became a challenge, especially when her daughter became affected. They decided to part ways but Hayes proposed they continue their relationship once Izzy had finished school in five years.

Some of these movies are not blockbusters or very popular, but it’s still a big deal. Mentioning pickleball in movies means that the sport has reached a certain point of popularity. It’s fun to see pickleball being portrayed in movies, isn’t it? Especially that scene in Mother of the Bride where the two main characters got overly competitive with each other. It’s somehow relatable that sometimes, competitiveness can get the best of us. Seeing pickleball in movies can also help promote the sport more and bring more picklers.