Addressing the Noise Impacts of Pickleball

Pickleball, a racquet-based sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States. It can be played indoors or outdoors, and the courts and nets are smaller than their tennis counterparts. Using a paddle and a plastic ball with holes, the sport can be played either as a singles or a doubles game. Pickleball first found popularity among active adults and retirees as a less physically demanding alternative to tennis, but today the sport is enjoyed by all ages and skill levels. 

While playing pickleball offers health and other benefits, it also has impacts that need to be considered and mitigated. The major negative impact associated with pickleball is noise. When the hard surface of the pickleball racket connects with the hard surface of the ball, sound waves vibrate rapidly, registering a decibel level of around 70 dBA at 100 feet from the court. (In comparison, tennis noise is closer to 40 dBA.)

This article by Mark Dent features Bob Unetich, a retired engineer, university professor, and founder of Pickleball Sound Mitigation LLC. He has become a go-to source for information in the pickleball wars, studying everything from paddles to the placement of courts. When Unetich has discussions with clients, he gives a primary piece of advice: Do whatever you can to ensure that the average sound emanating from the court to the nearest homes is 50 dBA or less.

According to Unetich's studies and experience, residents of suburban areas generally do not complain about that noise level, which is a few decibels above typical suburban background noise. In noisier city environments, Unetich has proposed a maximum noise limit of 3 dBA above the background sound. Getting down to 50 dBA is possible with planning. Data from one of Unetich’s papers estimates that even in a wide-open space the sound of pickleball will likely be tolerable to people living at a distance of 977 feet or farther from a court, and anecdotally he has rarely heard complaints from people living more than roughly 500 feet away.  

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