As opposed to a natural sport? I played it in middle school for PE ~20 years ago, it supposedly has been growing in popularity.
Basically this generations racquetball, a sport that's existed for a while getting slightly more popular but will never surpass tennis.
I had that same thought. I was really into racquetball in the late '80s into the early '90s. Pickleball doesn't require an expensive indoor court. (No one I knew played racquetball on those partially enclosed outdoor handball courts).
It's like tennis with a much, much shallower learning curve. You can have an enjoyable match virtually straight away with no experience.
To get good at tennis you have to start young. If you start playing late in life progress will be slow and you will never really master it (or so I've heard). With pickleball and paddle tennis you can pick up a racket and play and have fun really quick.