If you haven’t been invited by a friend to try out pickleball, you will be soon. Everyone seems to be playing pickleball. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), participation in the sport almost doubled in 2022 with a total of 8.9 million players. Pickleball courts have been springing up all across America with Seattle and St Petersburg FL leading the way at about 20 courts per 100,000 people. This makes learning about reducing pickleball noise issues all the more important!

For a pickleball court, we’re focused on stopping airborne noise, or sound that travels through the air. To stop airborne noise, you need to build barriers that are dense and airtight to block the path of travel. Almost all of the noise generated while playing pickleball is due to the sound of the paddle making contact with the ball. Unfortunately for folks living near pickleball courts, this “pop” is louder and at a different frequency than sound generated while playing tennis (which pickleball courts are often placed near).

This “pop” is a mid-frequency sound, which happens to be relatively similar to human speech. There’s good news and bad news here. We’ll start with the bad news… which is that people tend to notice noises in this frequency – as our brains are wired to pay attention to other people talking. The good news is that these mid-frequency noises are much easier to block and absorb than lower frequencies, so sound mitigation is possible.

When we plan for sound mitigation for pickleball, there are 3 opportunities:
1.   Locate the courts further away from people
2.   Use quieter paddles and balls that generate less noise
3.    Build soundproof barriers around the pickleball courts

We’ll cover each in more detail below, but let’s first start with a quick section of “How Tos” for those that need a checklist.

Reducing noise while playing pickleball can be a bit of a balancing act. It can be difficult for those playing the game to understand the level of aggravation some of the closest neighbors are feeling. Understanding your options is absolutely key so that you can figure out what works best for your pickleball courts and your neighborhood.

1. Be strategic about the pickleball court’s location. Sound reduces by 6 dB every time you double the distance from the noise source. We recommend 500 feet or more for pickleball.
2. Use softer pickleball paddles and balls. Softer material make less noise and will reduce the “pop” sound.
3. Build a barrier around your pickleball courts. A good soundproof fence will reduce noise by 8-10 dB and a full enclosure can get to a 12+ decibel reduction.

We’ve helped many pickleball courts reduce unwanted noise through our Quiet Quilt Soundproof Blankets. They’re effective, durable, and come in 16 different color options so you can get the perfect aesthetic for your pickleball courts.

Sound decays in accordance with “free-field” conditions in open outdoor spaces without reflective surfaces. For a point source of noise (pickleball paddle hitting a ball), the sound will travel spherically and reduce by 6 dB every time you double the distance from the source. Noise reduction option #1 is to place the pickleball courts further away. If you already have courts built or cannot build further from populated areas, unfortunately you need to move on to option #2.

Sounds below 50 decibels generally are covered up by the general background noise in a neighborhood and generally do not result in complaints from neighbors. We have heard plenty of complaints from people within 250 ft of a court, but not many at 500 ft or more.

That loud “pop” of the pickleball paddle hitting the ball is primarily due to rigidity of the two surfaces coming into contact with one another. If you upgrade to a nicer, softer paddle, you’ll get less noise with each hit. We found this website that did some acoustical tests on the different types of paddles available and has created a “Blue Zone” for paddles that meet certain requirements.

For a private court, sticking to the softer paddle options is a great way to reduce noise for complaining neighbors, but you shouldn’t expect miracles. We’d estimate a 3-5 decibel reduction by requiring quieter paddles and balls.

Soundproofing the fence around a pickleball court is a game-changer, and is the only way to put an end to the noise problem. The good news for pickleball courts is that you almost always have an existing fence structure (typically chain link) that’s plenty tall and surrounds the court an easy soundproofing upgrade. If you are considering building a new fence, there are some basic rules.

1. Height matters: We recommend 2x taller than any noise sources for best results. (and it must be at least 1.5x higher). For pickleball, we recommend an 8 foot fence.
2. 100% coverage is required: Gaps in the barrier will allow sound through. We want to break line of site with the neighbors, while ensuring sound can’t go AROUND the fence. At the very least you need a 3-sided barrier, and a full enclosure is preferred.
3. Closer to the court is better: By being closer to the court, you’ll get better results with less materials.
4. Density is required: The chain link fence is not blocking any sound. We have to put a dense, airtight barrier. To know if a material is a good barrier, it should have an STC rating. The STC rating indicates the material has been professionally tested to determine how much noise it blocks.

We’ve written a whole article on fence soundproofing, so you can continue reading if you’d like to keep researching.

We have two recommended options for soundproofing a fence around a pickleball court. There’s the premium option, which gives the best performance and aesthetic and then there’s the budget friendly option which will get the job done.

Quiet Quilt™ Soundproof Blanket

Our Quiet Quilt Outdoor Soundproof Blanket is the top-of-the-line option for exterior soundproofing. We manufacture this product with reinforced mass loaded vinyl and a vinyl quilted face for top end STC and NRC ratings. It also comes with outdoor rated Velcro and grommets, making it easy to hang on your fence while ensuring no gaps for noise to pass through. You just secure the Quiet Quilt blanket to the fence, and then seal the gap between the blankets with the overlapping Velcro ends.

Our soundproof blankets are easy to install, rated for 15+ years of outdoor use, come in a variety of color options, and can be custom manufactured to fit any fence height. If you're soundproofing a pickleball court, Quiet Quilt is the solution you want! Reach out to us to get a conversation started for your courts!

Luxury Liner™ Mass Loaded Vinyl

Our Luxury Liner™ E84 Class A Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV) is another excellent excellent soundproofing material for blocking noise, especially on a tighter budget. It's a popular choice for fences because it's UV stable and has a high tensile strength. You can easily install it with grommets on a chain link fence with 100% coverage. Our material of choice is mass loaded vinyl when a court is most concerned with blocking the sound of dinks from disturbing those resting by the club pool. You will, however, need to deal with the reflected sound off the MLV on the court (but not heat because this MLV is an off-white to limit trapping heat). But hey, at least no one is complaining that you're disrupting their peace.