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Moore confident pickleball will be an Olympic sport
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Posted on Mar 15 2023
Daniel Moore, second from left, poses with Pickleball Federation of the Northern Mariana Islands president Nelson Krum, left, and pickleball players from Isla Montessori Saipan during a break in his two-day pickleball clinic last week at the American Memorial Park. (MARK RABAGO)
Daniel Moore, the world’s No. 11 pickleball player, said he’s confident that the fastest-growing sport will eventually become an Olympic sport.
“Sooner rather than later, pickleball will be an Olympic sport. There’s already a professional league in the U.S. Maybe that will go to Asia and the rest of the world and it’ll eventually be a global professional sport,” he said during his recent visit to Saipan where he conducted a two-day clinic.
The nine-time U.S. national pickleball champion also said he particularly wants the sport to grow exponentially in China, so it can speed up pickleball’s entry to the Olympics.
“I think the one that I would really like to see playing a lot is China because it’s so big. If the government decides that they want to invest in pickleball, I think immediately they’ll have some of the best players in the world, just by population, and they also have academies. So I think if China gets involved in the sport, it’ll change the dynamic,” said Moore, who is now based in Japan and operates Pickleball Trips, a company taking pickleball players to world-class destinations around the world.
The Pickleball Federation of the Northern Mariana Islands, which invited Moore to the island, was established just a couple of years ago and already boasts more than 150 members.
The group’s president, Nelson Krum, earlier said in order for the International Olympic Committee to consider pickleball as a sport in the quadrennial event, it should be played in 75 countries.
The group last year was admitted as an associate member of the International Federation of Pickleball.
Group vice president Don Dunlop, meanwhile, thanked Moore for his two-day clinic on Saipan.
“He’s just the nicest guy and I see why the Japanese culture just loves him so much. He’s so kind and he’s very respectful, and he’s one of the top players in the world and beat Ben Johnson and Matt Ride back in 2015 and 2016. So he’s bringing that success to us. We’re so fortunate to have had Daniel Moore here.”
