Pickleball Calories Burned While Playing – The Full Breakdown

If you’re in search of an exciting way to burn calories, you might be surprised to learn that pickleball might be the answer you’ve been looking for.

As one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, Pickleball has gained a strong reputation for its unique blend of fun, strategy, and fitness.

So how effective is pickleball for burning calories, and can you actually lose weight playing the sport?

In this blog, we’ll give you the full breakdown of calories burned playing pickleball, including what factors might affect the amount of pickleball calories burned, and how many calories you can expect to burn playing an hour or even 30 minutes of pickleball games.

How Many Calories Do You Burn Playing Pickleball?

The number of calories burned during a game of pickleball depends on multiple factors, such as your weight, the intensity of play, and whether you’re playing singles or doubles.

Now although there haven’t been many studies conducted on the given number of calories burned during a game of pickleball, we can make reasonable estimates using credible research done on other racket sports, specifically tennis.

Calories Burned Playing Singles Pickleball

Research from the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise Journal, suggests that you can burn the following calories playing an hour of singles tennis at a moderate intensity, depending on your weight.

Using that data, let’s assume that on average, you exert 30% less energy playing pickleball than tennis. This is mainly because tennis usually involves a lot more running and players hit the ball with more force.

With that estimate in mind, here are how many calories you can expect to burn playing an hour of singles pickleball at moderate intensity:

So if your body weight is between 155 and 180 pounds, you can expect to burn anywhere from 563 and 654 calories playing an hour of moderate-intensity singles pickleball.

Use this table to get a general range of where you might fit and how many calories you’d burn playing singles pickleball!

Calories Burned Playing Doubles Pickleball

Now, let’s calculate how many calories you’d burn playing an hour of doubles pickleball.
Since you aren’t moving as much or hitting the ball as often in doubles compared to singles, you likely won’t be burning as many calories per hour. However, you’ll still be surprised as to just how many calories you can burn, playing even doubles pickleball!

Using the same method as before, the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise Journal suggests you’ll roughly burn the following calories playing an hour of doubles tennis at a moderate intensity.

Now assuming doubles pickleball also requires 30% less energy than doubles tennis, here are how many calories you can expect to burn playing an hour of doubles pickleball at a moderate intensity:

So if your body weight is between 180 and 205 pounds, you can expect to burn anywhere from 343 and 391 calories playing an hour of moderate-intensity doubles pickleball.

Again, use these estimates as a general range to help you determine the calories burned playing pickleball. You don’t need to worry too much about the exact numbers, the key here is to understand that pickleball does burn calories – and probably a lot more than you think!

Pickleball Calorie Calculator

With that said, if you are looking for a more exact estimate based on your own body stats, use our following pickleball calorie calculator below.

pickleball calorie calculator

How To Burn More Calories With Pickleball

Now if you’re eager to burn more calories while playing pickleball, here are a few things you can do to torch a few extra calories:

Play Singles
As shown in our estimates above, playing singles pickleball over doubles is an easy way to burn more calories in the same (or even less) amount of time.

Play More Intense Matches
The more intense your matches, the more energy you’ll have to expend, which translates to overall calories being burned. Don’t be afraid to bring out your competitive spirit and challenge tougher opponents who’ll make you move more than you’re used to!

Play For Longer
This one’s pretty intuitive, but the longer you play, the more calories you’ll burn. Play more games, player longer games (beyond 11 points), or even try two sessions in a day!

Can Pickleball Help Me Lose Body Weight?

Yes! Although Pickleball burns slightly fewer calories than tennis, it definitely still burns a good amount of calories and can help you lose weight. Just keep in mind that losing weight isn’t strictly about how many calories you burn.

In order to lose weight, you need to be eating fewer calories than your body is burning. This means in addition to exercise, your diet plays a significant role when it comes to weight loss.

Other Health Benefits Beyond Calories

While the calories burned playing pickleball is a great benefit, there are many other benefits that the sport has to provide.

Improves Heart Health

Pickleball is a great way to get your heart rate up, which can help lead to improved cholesterol and blood pressure levels, ultimately lowering your risk of heart disease.

Enhanced Mental Well-Being And More Energy
The endorphins released while playing a pickleball game can help reduce anxiety, depression, and stress, and lead to an overall boost in your mental health.

Lower Impact Sport
Compared to tennis and other physically demanding sports, pickleball is a lot less taxing on the body. Pickleball courts are smaller and the gameplay usually requires less running and intensity. This is especially beneficial for players with injuries or heart conditions.

Social Connections

The community aspect of Pickleball can help you meet new people, make friends, and stay socially engaged.

In A Nutshell

Not only is Pickleball a fun and exciting game, but it’s an effective way to burn calories, lose weight, and stay active. We hope this article has helped motivate you to get back out on the courts and keep on pickling!

FAQ