The short version: Achilles tendon ruptures from pickleball happen mostly to players over 50, typically while lunging or pushing off forward, and very often to beginners. In a 2025 study of pickleball Achilles patients, 68% were injured in their first month of playing and 32% on the first day they ever played (Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2025). Fewer than half went back to the court.
This isn’t a reason to avoid pickleball. It’s a reason to start slowly. Here’s what the research shows, and what it means for new players.
This article summarizes published research and isn’t medical advice. If you think you’ve injured your Achilles, stop playing and see a clinician.
Source: JAAOS 2025 (28 patients); Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics 2026 (40 pickleball ruptures)
What the studies found
We found six peer-reviewed studies that report pickleball Achilles data, all published since 2024 (method below). They come from orthopedic practices and a national emergency-room database, so they count injuries that were treated, not how common the injury is per player.
| Study | Who | Key pickleball finding |
|---|---|---|
| Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics, 2026 | 1,028 Achilles repairs, 2018–2022, a large orthopedic group | 40 from pickleball. Median age 60 (tennis 45, other sports 37). 82.5% were over 50. Pickleball’s share of repairs grew from 0.5% (2018) to 6.7% (2021). |
| Foot & Ankle Specialist, 2024 | 2,684 Achilles injuries, 2013–2023, a multistate practice | 43 from pickleball. Older (64.5 vs 48.6 years) and more likely to have surgery (67.4% vs 45.4%). |
| JAAOS, 2025 | 28 pickleball rupture patients, average age 63.9 | 68% hurt in their first month, 32% on day one. 47% returned to pickleball, after 1.6 years on average. Nearly all who didn’t return cited fear of reinjury. |
| Foot & Ankle International, 2024 | 198 pickleball foot and ankle patients at one center | Achilles rupture was the most common diagnosis (39.4%). Top mechanisms: running or lunging forward (30.9%), planting the foot (16.5%). |
| Physician and Sportsmedicine, 2026 | ~31,500 US ER-treated ruptures, 2019–2024 | Basketball caused the most overall. “Ball sports/other,” which includes pickleball, was the common cause among people 60+ and women. |
| Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 2026 | 113 PPA Tour pros, 2018–2025 | Achilles ruptures among the season-ending injuries. |
1,028 operative Achilles repairs at one large orthopedic group, 2018–2022.
Source: Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics, 2026
Why pickleball, and why older players
The studies point to a combination of who plays and how the game moves:
- The players. Pickleball draws people who haven’t played a fast sport in years. Both orthopedic series found pickleball patients 15 to 23 years older than people who tore the tendon in other sports.
- The movement. Most foot and ankle injuries happened running or lunging forward and planting the foot. That’s a sprint to a short ball or a dive at a drop shot. MedlinePlus lists suddenly pushing off the foot, going from walking to running, as a typical way the tendon tears (MedlinePlus, reviewed June 2026).
- The ramp. The most striking number is timing. When two-thirds of ruptures happen in the first month, the risk isn’t pickleball in general. It’s doing too much too soon, before the calf and tendon have adapted.
How to start pickleball without hurting your Achilles
No trial has tested an Achilles-specific prevention program for pickleball, so nobody can promise a method that works. What the evidence does support:
- Ramp up your first month. Short sessions, a few times a week, and build up from there. The day-one and first-month numbers are the clearest finding in this research.
- Warm up properly. A 2026 systematic review of lower-leg pickleball injuries recommends dynamic warm-ups and balance (proprioceptive) training (Cureus, 2026). Our 10-minute warm-up routine covers it.
- Don’t lunge for everything. Letting a ball go is cheaper than six months of rehab. Good footwork gets you to the ball earlier, so you lunge less.
- Wear court shoes. The same review recommends sport-specific footwear. Running shoes are built for straight-line movement, not side-to-side. See the best pickleball shoes.
- Take a beginner class. Learning the soft game early (dinks and resets, rather than chasing everything) reduces the number of hard sprints. A coach will also tell you when to stop for the day.
If it happens
Stop playing. Treatment is either surgery or a non-surgical boot-and-rehab approach. In the JAAOS pickleball study, long-term scores were similar either way. A 2026 study of 173 patients aged 50 and over found higher scores at 12 months after percutaneous (minimally invasive) repair than without surgery (Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics, 2026). The choice is one to make with an orthopedic specialist. MedlinePlus notes that with physical therapy most people return to normal activity in 4 to 6 months. Going back to pickleball takes longer. In the JAAOS study, those who returned did so after 1.6 years on average.
How we found these studies
On October 28, 2026 we searched PubMed for every record mentioning pickleball (125 in total) and read the titles and abstracts of all of them. Six report Achilles-specific pickleball data, listed above. A seventh, on Achilles repair in patients aged 50 and over, mentions pickleball as a common activity but has no pickleball-specific data, so we cite it only on treatment. See our full review of pickleball research.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is pickleball bad for your Achilles?
Achilles ruptures from pickleball are mostly seen in players over 50, and most happen in a player’s first month. The research shows who gets hurt, not the risk per player, but it strongly suggests building up gradually.
How common are Achilles tears in pickleball?
Nobody has measured a rate per player. At one large orthopedic group, pickleball went from 0.5% of Achilles repairs in 2018 to 6.7% in 2021. At one foot and ankle clinic, the Achilles was the most common pickleball injury (39.4% of 198 patients).
What movement causes an Achilles rupture in pickleball?
Running or lunging forward (30.9% of foot and ankle injuries in one study), planting the foot (16.5%) and rolling the ankle (15.5%).
Can you play pickleball again after an Achilles rupture?
Many people do. In one study, 47% returned, on average 1.6 years after the injury. Almost all who didn’t return said they feared another injury.
How long does it take to recover from an Achilles rupture?
MedlinePlus says most people return to normal activity in 4 to 6 months with physical therapy. Returning to sport usually takes longer.