Ex tennis No 1 Khazan says pickleball rising fast but trails tennis

Deniz Khazan has competed at a high level in two different sports, and she has a good perspective on how they compare. The former Israeli tennis No 1 and International Tennis Federation title winner has transitioned into professional pickleball, where she now plays on the sport’s growing circuit.

As pickleball continues to bring more attention and talent, people are starting to compare it with tennis more. Khazan believes the progress is real, but a gap remains.

“The level in pickleball has improved dramatically in a very short time,” Khazan said. “You can see it in the athleticism, the strategy, the way points are constructed. But compared to the tennis tour, it is still not at that level yet.”

Khazan, 30, says that overall depth is the biggest difference right now. Back when she was a tennis player competing at international events she faced opponents with high experience levels no matter which round it was. That type of consistency isn’t really present fully yet in pickleball.

“In tennis, especially at the higher levels, every round feels like a battle,” she said. “The depth is incredible because players have been developed through structured systems for years. In pickleball, that structure is still being built. You have very strong top players, but the overall depth is not as consistent yet.”

Even though pickleball doesn't yet have the well developed systems you find in tennis, the nature of pickleball is changing as many top athletes arrive. 

“What’s happening now is that you are getting more high level athletes entering the sport, and that is raising the standard quickly,” Khazan said. “The improvement from even a few years ago is huge.”

Khazan also says the fact that people are now making a comparison between the two sports at all shows just how much pickleball has grown. 

“A few years ago, people did not even compare the two seriously,” she said. “Now they are, and that says a lot about where pickleball is heading.”

But she’s quick to point that, for now at least, tennis clearly leads the way. 

“Tennis is still the benchmark when it comes to overall level and depth,” she said.

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