Novak Djokovic Is Concerned About The Rising Threat Of Pickleball

Novak Djokovic says tennis is "endangered." And there's one major culprit spearheading its demise… pickleball.

"If we don’t do something about it, globally or collectively, paddle — pickleball in the States — they’re gonna convert all the tennis clubs into paddle and pickleball," Djokovic told reporters at Wimbledon.

Novak Djokovic believes the popularity of pickleball is hurting tennis.

(Getty Images)

The world No. 2 men’s singles player explained that his sport has to do a better job of marketing to grow its audience — particularly, the younger demographic.

"Tennis, on one hand, is in a good place, but at the same time, when we look at Formula 1 for example and what they’ve done in terms of marketing, in terms of growth of the sport — in terms of the races around the world and how popular they are — I think we need to do a better job on our respective tours," he said.

The 37-year-old also noted that "we are lucky to be very historic and a very global sport," adding, "I think there’s a huge space for growth. We’re quite fractioned as a sport."

Djokovic mentioned money as a major barrier for entry into tennis. Despite tennis being the "king or queen of all racquet sports," he said, pickleball is more "economical" — both for athletes and for club owners.

"You can build three paddle courts on one tennis court," he said. "Do the simple math. It’s just much more financially viable for the owner of the club to have those courts.

"In the grand scheme of things, we need to address all these challenges and issues. Because they’ve been out there for a while. I don’t think we’ve been addressing it in the proper way."

RELATED: Retired QB Nick Foles Is Now Dominating Pickleball

And Djokovic might have a point. Pickleball is no longer just a hobby at your local rec center. It's one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, and a slew of professional athletes are getting involved.

Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Venus Williams and Patrick Mahomes have all invested in Major League Pickleball teams.

Something tells me Novak Djokovic won't be joining them in that endeavor.