Safety & sun

Pickleball and padel with the family: eye protection for every age on the court

A child, a parent and a grandparent can share a pickleball or padel court, and a fast ball at face height. What the studies show, what eye protection to wear, and what to do after a hit.

by Dr Chan Li Yen · MBBS, MOphth (UM), Fellowship in Paediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus

Dr Chan Li Yen, consultant paediatric ophthalmologist, MMC 43128, NSR 132980 · Eagle Eye Centre Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya

10 min read · 1,821 words

Key takeaways

A US emergency-department study estimated 1,262 pickleball eye injuries in 2024 alone, rising by about 405 cases a year from 2021 to 2024.
In the US pickleball data the players hurt were mostly older adults, so grandparents need protection as much as children do.
Padel has its own evidence: in one Swedish county it became the leading cause of sports eye injuries by 2021, and 10.3 per cent of 583 Italian players surveyed reported an eye injury.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology calls wrap-around polycarbonate goggles ideal, and says even sunglasses or regular glasses are better than nothing.
After a hit, see an eye doctor right away for any change in vision, substantial pain, bleeding or bruising. Published Malaysian injury figures for either sport are limited.

Pickleball and padel are the sports a family can play together: a ten-year-old, a parent and a grandparent can share a court and a laugh. They also share a small, fast ball that arrives at face height. The eye injuries from these sports are not common in any single game, but they are rising in the countries that keep count, and most of them are preventable.

Published Malaysian injury figures for either sport are limited, and I will not make any up. What follows comes from hospital and emergency-department studies in the United States, Sweden and Italy, and I say which is which. The habits that protect the eye are the same wherever the court is.

Can pickleball or padel really hurt the eye?

Yes. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says a pickleball can travel up to 40 miles per hour on a serve and cross from one paddle to the other in under half a second, and it lists a scratched cornea (the clear front window of the eye), damage to the outer layers of the retina, and a retinal tear or detachment as injuries from a direct hit.

A retinal detachment means the light-sensing layer at the back of the eye peels away from its wall. It is an emergency, and it is the injury that can take sight away.

The sport is not the danger by itself. The danger is a hard ball, players close together, and no barrier between the ball and the eye.

What do the studies show about pickleball eye injuries?

They show a steep rise, mostly in older players. A 2025 study in JAMA Ophthalmology used a US government database of emergency-department visits. It estimated 3,112 pickleball eye injuries from 2005 to 2024 across the United States, with 1,262 of them in 2024 alone. From 2021 to 2024 the estimate rose by 405 cases a year. Players aged 50 and older were hurt more often than younger ones.

The serious injuries in that study included retinal detachment, a broken bone around the eye (orbital fracture), damage to the eyeball itself, and bleeding in the front of the eye (hyphaema). The eye was struck by the ball, by a paddle, or in a fall. The authors noted that eye protection is not required, for casual or professional play, and asked for clear guidelines.

A second study, in the journal Eye in 2026, compared pickleball with dodgeball and kickball from 2014 to 2023. Pickleball injuries were mostly in older adults, with an average age of about 58, while dodgeball and kickball injuries were mostly in young people around 13 to 15. In all three, a direct hit from the ball was the main cause and a scratched cornea was the commonest diagnosis. In pickleball, falls and orbital fractures were more frequent than in the other two.

These are American numbers. They count people who came to an emergency department, so they miss milder injuries, and they say nothing about how many people play.

Is padel riskier than pickleball for the eyes?

We do not know that, but padel has its own evidence. A 2024 study in Acta Ophthalmologica, from one Swedish county, followed 255 people who sought care for sports eye injuries from 2017 to 2021. Padel became the leading cause by 2021. Compared with floorball players, the padel patients were older and more often women. The ball caused almost all of the padel injuries, most were mild or moderate, and 4 per cent had severe consequences with a risk of long-term complications.

A 2026 survey in Eye of 583 Italian padel players found that 60 (10.3 per cent) reported at least one eye injury, and six of those 60 had eye surgery. The players who played four to six matches a week had the highest odds of injury. It was a voluntary online survey, so people who had been hurt may have been more likely to answer, so the 10 per cent is a signal rather than a rate. Only 56 players (9.6 per cent) strongly supported wearing goggles.

A Swedish report of three padel cases in 2020 needed surgery for retinal tears and detachment. Its authors suggested that the ball's size and speed, its unpredictable bounce off the walls, and the short distance between players might raise the risk. That is their reasoning, not a proven cause.

Who in the family is most at risk, the children or the grandparents?

In the pickleball data, it is the older players, and in the padel data, people who play often. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says pickleball is especially risky for older people, who may not have the speed to avoid contact, and that people with myopia (short-sightedness) or earlier eye surgery may have more severe injuries.

That is worth saying aloud at a family game. A grandparent who has had cataract surgery, or a teenager with high myopia, should not be the one who goes without eye protection. Children need the same goggles as the adults on the court. If your child has a vision problem in one eye, the point of a vision check before a new sport is even stronger.

If you are the parent watching from the side, you are also the one who decides the rule for the court before the first rally.

What eye protection should we wear on court?

Wrap-around polycarbonate goggles, with cover at the front and the sides, are what the American Academy of Ophthalmology calls ideal. Polycarbonate is a tough clear plastic that is used in safety eyewear because it resists impact. The academy adds that wrap-around goggles give the most protection, and that even sunglasses or regular glasses are better than nothing.

That last line matters for a family that has not bought anything yet. Treat ordinary glasses as a stopgap, since the academy does not call them protection, only better than nothing. If your child wears glasses, ask the optician for sports eyewear that fits over or replaces them, and check that it is not loose or scratched.

I have not checked a Malaysian standard for sports eyewear, and I have not named a brand. Look for goggles that say they are made for sport or for impact, sit snugly on the face, and stay on when your child jumps. Comfort decides whether they are worn: a child who takes them off after five minutes is not protected.

The habit is easier to build early. Goggles on the way to the court, the same as the water bottle, and everyone wears them, adults too.

What do we do if the ball or a paddle hits someone in the eye?

Stop the game, do not rub, and look at the eye. The academy says a player hit in the eye should see an ophthalmologist right away if there is any change or loss of vision, or if there is substantial pain, bleeding or bruising.

The first-aid rules are the ones for any blunt hit. A small cold compress near the eye can ease pain and swelling, with no pressure on the eyeball. I have written out what to look at in the first minute in a child poked in the eye, and the same-day signs there apply here: blood in the front of the eye, a pupil that is not round or is a different size, a lid that will not open, vision that is worse or blurred, and severe pain.

An eye that looked fine at the time can still turn out to be hurt, which is why the follow-up visit matters, as I explained after a hit from a shuttlecock in the shuttlecock and your child's eye. Other play and home hazards are gathered in eye safety at home.

Play on, with goggles, and see a doctor when the eye has been hit.

See an eye doctor the same day if a ball or paddle hits the eye and…

Vision is blurred, changed or lost in that eye.
There is substantial pain, bleeding or bruising around the eye.
There is blood visible in the front of the eye, or the pupil is not round or is a different size from the other.
The eyelid will not open properly once the swelling is allowed for.
The eye looked fine at first, but sight, pain or redness gets worse over the next day or two.

Common questions

Do children need eye protection for pickleball or padel?

Goggles on every player, children included, is the sensible rule, because the ball is hard and moves fast. The studies count mostly adults, so no child-specific injury rate can be given. What they show is a rising number of eye injuries in both sports and, in the US pickleball data, no rule that requires protection.

Are pickleball eye injuries really increasing?

In the United States, yes. A 2025 study of emergency-department data estimated 3,112 pickleball eye injuries from 2005 to 2024, with the estimate rising by 405 cases a year from 2021 to 2024. These are American figures, and published Malaysian ones are limited.

Is my grandmother at higher risk than my teenager?

In the US data, the players hurt were mostly older. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says older players may lack the speed to avoid contact, and that people with myopia or earlier eye surgery may have more severe injuries. That is a reason for goggles for the grandparents too.

Can normal glasses or sunglasses protect my child on court?

Only a little. The academy says wrap-around polycarbonate goggles with front and side coverage are ideal, and that even sunglasses or regular glasses are better than nothing. Treat them as a stopgap until sport goggles are bought.

What is polycarbonate, and why does it matter?

Polycarbonate is a tough, clear plastic used in safety eyewear because it resists impact. The academy names polycarbonate goggles as the ideal choice for pickleball. I have not checked a Malaysian standard for sports eyewear, so ask the optician what the goggles are made for.

What should I do if my child is hit in the eye by the ball?

Stop play, do not rub the eye, and look at it. See an ophthalmologist right away if there is any change or loss of vision, or substantial pain, bleeding or bruising. A small cold compress near the eye can ease pain, with no pressure on it.

Is padel more dangerous than pickleball for the eyes?

No study cited here compares them directly. Padel has its own reports: a Swedish county found it the leading cause of sports eye injuries by 2021, and an Italian survey found 10.3 per cent of players reporting an eye injury. Both have limits, so read them as warnings, not rates.

References

American Academy of Ophthalmology · Wear eye protection when playing pickleball · www.aao.org
JAMA Ophthalmology 2025 · Pickleball-related ocular injuries among patients presenting to emergency departments (Lacher et al.) · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Eye 2026 · Pickleball and ball sports-related ocular trauma in the United States (Shah et al.) · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Acta Ophthalmologica 2024 · Padel, an increasing cause of sport-related eye injuries in Sweden (Kasiga and Bro) · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Eye 2026 · Ocular injuries in padel: a survey on frequency, risk factors and perceptions toward protective eyewear (Aiello et al.) · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Läkartidningen 2021 · Eye injuries related to padel (Thörnland and Jakobsson) · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

By Dr Chan Li Yen. General information only. It does not replace a consultation. If you are worried about your child's eyes or vision, please see an eye doctor.