Key Takeaways
More pickleball players are experiencing eye injuries
Injuries range from simple black eyes to detached retinas and broken eye sockets
Hits from the ball, falls and hits from the paddle account for most injuries
FRIDAY, Oct. 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The surging popularity of pickleball has brought with it a concerning increase in eye injuries among players.
Pickleball-related eye injuries rose by more than 400 cases a year from 2021 to 2024, up from around 200 annually during the prior decade, researchers reported Oct. 16 in JAMA Ophthalmology .
Some players took a direct hit from a ball, while others received their eye injury during a fall or from being whacked by a paddle, researchers found.
This increase occurred even as eye injuries in other sports like tenn