How retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods could hurt growing sport of pickleball

Pickleballers in B.C. are serving up frustration as their equipment has been swept up in the growing cross-border trade war between the U.S. and Canada.

The sport of pickleball has been growing in Canada for years, with Pickleball Canada reporting a 25 per cent increase in registered members from 2023 to 2024.

The game combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. The main piece of equipment is the paddle  — mainly from U.S. brands — that players use to hit the ball across the net.

But paddles made in the U.S. are now subject to a 25 per cent tariff that Canada imposed on March 13 in response to U.S. tariffs on many Canadian imports.

A pickleball equipment seller in B.C. says it's looking to import directly from China to counter the tariffs, and a pickleball player suggests that Canadian manufacturers could capitalize on the push to buy local.

"It's probably going to make huge waves in the pickleball industry," said Cara Arding, who owns the online retailer Pickleball Depot.

Arding's business is based out of Vernon and also has a retail location in Kelowna. She says it's one of the biggest Canadian online retailers of pickleball equipment.

The equipment seller said she had made a big bulk order before the imposition of retaliatory tariffs and would look to maintain her prices as much as possible — but already, her customs receipts from U.S. imports are higher than usual.

"Ultimately, you know, we'll only be able to hold those ... old prices so long until we start having to make some adjustments," she said. The end consumer is, unfortunately, going to see some price increases.

Arding said she's now looking to pivot and feature more Canadian paddle brands, some of which are imported directly from China.

She also said that the retailer was working with Chinese factories directly to create their own house-branded equipment.

"It's super important for Canadians right now to be able to buy — even if it's not Canadian-made or manufactured — [a product] that is coming from a Canadian company that designed it within Canada, that has that Canadian content," she said.

Landon Kitagawa, the president of the Delta Pickleball Association, said that pickleball paddles can cost anywhere from $80 on the lower end to more than $400.

He said the average pickleballer could look to online Chinese retailers like AliExpress or Temu if they want to completely bypass U.S. manufacturers.

"It's quite a new thing where I'm seeing more and more of those paddles start to find their way into the courts, and performance-wise, people seem OK with them," he said.

However, Kitagawa cautioned that some paddles have to be certified by Pickleball Canada before they're allowed in tournament play.

He said that Canadian manufacturers could find an edge supplying pickleball players with less expensive products if the tariff situation escalates.

"If all things being equal, in terms of ... paddles manufactured in China, they could find themselves at an advantage," he said.

WATCH | Pickleball equipment to be hit by counter-tariffs: 

Canada's pickleball community prepares to be hit by tariffs

7 days ago

Duration 1:59

Some sports gear in Canada is about to see a spike in prices due to retaliatory tariffs from the U.S. As Michelle Ghoussoub reports, the majority of equipment required for pickleball is shipped from the States.