A study of roughly 80,000 British adults confirmed the finding. Racket sports lowered all-cause mortality by 47% and cardiovascular death by 56%, beating swimming, aerobics, running, and cycling.
Three mechanisms stack on top of each other.
The first is interval training built into the game. Every rally mixes explosive sprints, lateral cuts, decelerations, and sustained aerobic recovery. It trains fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers at the same time. Most steady-state cardio only hits one system.
The second is cognitive load. You’re reading spin, predicting angles, adjusting footwork, and executing motor patterns against a fast-moving ball. The cerebellum holds roughly 50% of the brain’s neurons, and racket sports engage it more than almost any other activity. That translates into better executive function and long-term cognitive resilience.
The third is social. You can’t play racket sports alone. Every session requires conversation, competition, and a crew that expects you to show up next week. Strong social connections independently improve survival odds by about 50%. The sports with the most social interaction delivered the biggest lifespan gains in both studies.
Both studies are observational, and tennis players skew higher-income. After adjusting for education, income, smoking, alcohol, and self-rated health, the gap held.
Pickleball is a racket sport. It delivers the same combination of cardio, coordination, strategy, and social life on a smaller court with less joint stress. Longevity researcher Dan Buettner, founder of the Blue Zones project, has called pickleball the sport most likely to add years for the most people because it’s easy to learn and easy to play for life.
The 9.7 extra years came from people who consistently showed up to the court. Pickleball makes that easier than tennis ever did.
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