MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — It’s the fastest-growing sport in America.

According to the Association of Pickleball Professionals, 19% of Americans played pickleball last year.

Now, there is some science to explain why so many people are hitting the courts.

It comes down to two things. Science shows it’s good for your mental health, but it’s also addictive.

“All I know is that I wake up every day and the first thing I think about is getting ready to go out and play pickleball. It’s a sport that everybody with a little bit of athletic ability can play,” said Brenda Cristillo, a board member for the Carolina Coastal Pickleball Club.

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Cristillo said she plays pickleball five to six times a week.

A psychological study from Human Kinetics of almost 700 pickleballers in North Carolina, sheds some light on why players can’t seem to put down their rackets.

It found fitness and socialization as the most important reasons why the sport is so addictive.

“We met not just five or ten or dozens but hundreds of people, and everybody is concerned about each other, they laugh together, they play together, they dine together. It’s really become a pickleball family,” said Cristillo.

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It’s that socialization and sense of community that Sandy Quast, a licensed professional counselor at Coastal Haven Counseling, says separates pickleball from other sports.

Any sport is good for your mental health because it gets your endorphins going and that sort of thing. That always helps with depression, but team sports add that social piece. So, the big part with depression is that people are socially isolated.

A study tracking Apple Watch users also found that the sport is good for your mental health.

It found that depressive symptoms were 60% lower among frequent pickleball players.

Quast said it all comes back to socialization.

You’re seeing the same group of people, but it’s a pretty large group of people, but you get to know each other more. So, it’s more of that community feel. Which of course, we know that social connections is helpful with reducing depression.

Learn more about getting involved with pickleball in Myrtle Beach here.