Welcoming Everyone: Gender Inclusivity in Pickleball Tournaments
Editors Note: Pickleball University is not only an education source for the rapid growing sport of pickleball, but it’s also a place to have important and respectful dialogue on issues present in the hopes of advancement. We welcome players from all over to submit their opinions on hard topics like this while continuing to reinforce the demonstration of mutual respect to others, both on and off the court.
Pickleball’s rapid rise in popularity underscores the attractiveness of this sport to a wide variety of people. Nevertheless, we have some work to do to fully include everyone. One area for improvement involves making the sport more welcoming for players of all genders, and a logical place to start is with tournaments.
Pickleball tournaments are prone to excluding individuals who do not identify as male or female, given that the only divisions typically offered are men’s, women’s and mixed, defined as one man and one woman. The USA Pickleball 2022 Rulebook actually requires the exclusion of non-male or female players in sanctioned tournaments, as it states, “In events described by gender, only members of that gender shall be allowed to play in that event.” and it stipulates that for sanctioned tournaments, “A mixed doubles team shall consist of one male and one female player.” This policy begs the question: in what event is a nonbinary individual allowed to play in a sanctioned tournament? The answer appears to be none. In other sports, mens’ leagues do not explicitly exclude non-male athletes. In an April, 2021, Sports Illustrated article titled, “Living Nonbinary in a Binary Sports World,” author Britni De La Cretaz writes that “Interestingly, the leagues we currently think of as men’s leagues are actually more inclusive of trans and nonbinary athletes from a strictly rules-based perspective. MLB, the NHL, the NBA, the NFL and MLS do not have gender requirements for participants; anyone is eligible to play in those leagues.”
The USAPA rule effectively excludes from sanctioned tournaments any player who does not identify as male or female, an increasingly significant proportion of the population. According to a recent Williams Institute study, there are 1.2 million nonbinary adults in the United States. Younger generations, especially, are increasingly identifying their gender as something other than male or female. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review reported that “More than 12% of U.S. millennials identify as transgender or gender non-conforming, and a majority believe that gender is a spectrum rather than a man/woman binary. Compared to millennials, Gen Z’s views on gender are even more advanced. In the U.S., 56% know someone who uses a gender neutral pronoun and 59% believe forms should include options other than ‘man’ and ‘woman.’ Globally, 25% of Gen Zers expect to change their gender identity at least once during their lifetime.” Residents in my state of Oregon, and many other states, can select a gender marker of x on a driver's license, state identification card or birth certificate. At least 15 countries, including the U.S., allow people to indicate their gender as nonbinary on their passport. Why can’t nonbinary gender identities be accepted in a pickleball tournament? Better yet, why can’t we have tournaments that do not require players to state any gender identity? (This practice would increase safety for nonbinary and trans people who are at risk for harm when indicating their gender identity. For this reason, the Netherlands is currently moving to remove gender markers from national identification documents altogether.)
Other sports have taken steps toward gender inclusivity, and these can serve as models for our sport. De La Cretaz writes, “As society’s understanding of gender shifts and more and more athletes come out as nonbinary, leagues need to be prepared to accept them—not just in words, but with concrete policies.” USA Ultimate has a gender inclusion policy that states: “USA Ultimate currently has three divisions – men’s, women’s and mixed – that default to using the gender binary to determine participation in each division… However, we recognize not all individuals’ gender identities are binary, and a gender binary default for participation potentially could make some individuals feel excluded and unsafe. Within our divisions as they currently exist, USA Ultimate will not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, regardless of sex assigned at birth, or any other form of gender expression for participation in any division. We affirm that people of all gender identities should have the freedom to participate in USA Ultimate sanctioned or championship series events in the division in which they feel most comfortable and safe based on their gender identity and should be recognized, respected and included at every level of the sport. We strongly recommend that all organizers, leagues, tournaments, clinics and events adopt this statement as written and create an open and inclusive atmosphere in all ultimate programs.” In many ultimate tournaments, the men’s division has been replaced by an open division which, while composed primarily of male players, is inclusive of players of any gender.
Pickleball tournaments could include players of all genders in similar ways. An open gender division would not only make pickleball more inclusive of nonbinary individuals, but it would increase opportunities for women as well, since the open division option would allow women to play when there are not enough women signed up to have a separate women’s division at a given skill level. A quick internet search located a sports program in Kansas City that offers a mixed pickleball league which allows any combination of male, female, transgender, gender-neutral, and non-binary participants. Why not offer this same option in tournament play?
There is no good argument for strict segregation by gender in our sport. Major League Pickleball recently demonstrated that women/girls can compete with men/boys, even at the highest levels of pickleball. In “Has the Singles Tie-Breaker Changed the Game of Pickleball Forever?” JB Jones wrote, “In the first season of Major League pickleball, if teams were tied 2-2 after playing women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and two games of mixed, they would advance to a singles tiebreaker… (which) gave us a first look at mixed singles matchups where men and women faced off… Overall, there were 9 singles tie-breakers in season 1 of MLP. In those 9 tie breaks, we had 132 points played with mixed pairings. The ladies won 58 of those points, just about 44% of the total possible points, a very strong showing. Callie Smith stepped up for her team and took on men’s players in each matchup. She won 19 of her 28 points played in this format, just about 68%.” It should also be noted that Lee Whitwell (female) swept Dekel Bar (male, and a higher draft pick) in all four points of their singles matchup.
It is often argued that men as a group have a biological advantage over women as a group in pickleball. This may be true; however, men are not the only group to have a biological advantage. Younger players, for example, have a biological advantage over older players, but we do not segregate players by age in every tournament (and when age divisions are offered, older players are still allowed to play in younger divisions if they choose). In fact, there are many opportunities for people of all ages to compete with and against each other in tournament play, even at the pro level, where teens and players in their forties can be seen competing with and against each other. Other characteristics, such as height, arguably confer biological advantages in pickleball as well, yet we do not segregate players by height. Certain athletes will always have biological advantages over other athletes (just as some have economic and experiential advantages). Every individual is not born with, or provided, equal potential for success in every sport. It is not possible, or necessary, to control for all of these advantages.
The fact that male athletes outperform female athletes in many (but not all) sports, may reflect gender bias in our culture, as much as it reflects physical differences. In Playing With the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal, Eileen McDonagh and Laura Pappano argue that “coercive sex segregation does not reflect actual sex differences in athletic ability, but instead constructs and enforces a flawed premise that females are inherently athletically inferior to males.” Athleticism is more encouraged and supported in male children than non-male children. Stereotypes (e.g., non-male players being regarded as weaker players simply because of their gender) undoubtedly have a negative impact on performance. Even if there are sex differences in athleticism, it is a myth, according to Pickleball Guide’s “6 Pickleball Myths That Are Simply Not True,” that “the more athletic player always wins.” According to the guide, “If pickleball were just like tennis, then the player with a stronger serve, faster feet, and greater endurance would always win. Because of the way the game is played, however, pickleball encourages a wide range of strategies and makes it possible for many different types of players to excel.”
Strength, which is greater, on average, in male athletes than non-male athletes, does not play a huge role in pickleball. According to Joe Dinoffer (“What’s the major pickleball difference between women and men?” in Pickleball Magazine), two big attractions of the sport of pickleball are that it is a gender equalizer and a power neutralizer, due to the fact that touch shots play such an important role in pickleball. Dinoffer points out that the differences in the way men and women play the game are relatively minor. “In men’s doubles, 40% of the balls hit are touch shots, and their points average 8.6 hits… in women’s doubles or mixed, the touch shot average is 45%, and the average point is 9.6 hits.” In a YouTube video, Dinoffer also reported, “We have filmed and we have clocked ball speeds from top pickleballers in the world, and the men and the women are surprisingly similar.”
Women and men compete against each other in many sports, including equestrian, croquet, rifle shooting, dog sled racing, and motorsport. Is there a sound argument for why pickleball should be any different? Sometimes there is no specific justification for gender requirements. Couples in dance competitions have traditionally been composed of one male and one female dancer. Recently, however, two women competed as a couple on the television show, Dancing with the Stars. They may have been at a disadvantage in some ways (e.g. in regard to the strength required for lifts), but clearly they were able to overcome any disadvantages (and perhaps they had some advantages as well), as they took second place.
When it comes to pickleball, there is likely greater variability within any gender category than there is between gender categories. In other words, it can not be assumed that the play of two given players of different genders will be any more different than the play of two given players of the same gender. No single characteristic accurately predicts a player’s skill, or potential skill, in the game.
Gender segregation can have harmful effects on individuals that go beyond just missing out on tournament play. Exclusion and segregation can negatively impact an individual’s self esteem and mental health. On the other hand, no one is harmed when all genders are allowed to participate equally. When all individuals are fully included, everyone benefits, and the sport as a whole grows in a positive direction.
