When pickleball first started gaining popularity at the neighborhood tennis courts and country clubs, I didn’t think anything of it. I had heard of the game many years ago and since it didn’t take off then, I mostly ignored it.
I figured there would be a few injuries and possible brawls among weekend warriors, but I had no idea what we were in for. We have pickleball matches where paddles are used as weapons and people taking pickleballs to the eye.
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A pickleball match leads to an argument where a paddle was used as a weapon, leaving a man bleeding from the face. (Getty)
As if that wasn’t enough for folks who hit the court to contend with, there’s a new reason to keep your paddles up and your head on a swivel at all times while playing. Shots to the nipple. Evidently they’re no fun.
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You don’t have to take my word for it. Kaitlyn Kerr, a pickleball pro and self-described “voice of pickleball” who goes by Pickleball Chick on social media, is sounding the alarm.
She posted a video of herself taking a shot to the chest along with the warning: “PICKLEBALL IS DANGEROUS FOR NIPPLES.”
A pickleball paddle and balls rest by the net on a blue court, ready for a game. (Getty Images)
The short public service announcement shows her standing on the court with her paddle down by her side waiting for the ball to be served. She wasn’t prepared for what ended up playing out.
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As Kerr is standing there, the guy serving smashes the ball at her chest. She tries to avoid it and isn’t able to do so. She takes the ball to the nipple. The nasty serve leaves her rolling on the court in pain.
Kerr isn’t the only one out there to have experienced this. Other “titty bag survivors” showed up in the comment section with their own recollections of nipple trauma on the pickleball court:
- I almost quit the day I got hit in the nipple
- like actually. I still have PTSD playing the person who did it to me
- I felt that sting from here
- I too am a survivor. Stand strong
- nothing burns more than a nipple hit
- I took one straight to the nip this week. Still hurty
- I’ve taken a few of those against heavy spin guys. Just 2100 rpms and a nipple that felt like it melted to my shirt.
- Took one to the nipple the other day. Pain level 💯 📈
A woman competing in a pickleball match. (Getty Images)
Let this be a lesson to everyone else who hasn’t been on the receiving end of one of these painful shots. This is all avoidable. Keep those paddles up at all times on the court.
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You don’t want to contemplate calling it quits or end up with PTSD from enduring the sting of a pickleball to the nipple. Nobody does. And nobody wants to play with someone with a lot of extra rules either.
So an outright ban on these shots isn’t going to work. Take some responsibility, it’s up to you to protect yourself.