As a former athlete, Alex Kukich can’t think of a better way to stay active and find community — no matter the weather — than pickleball.

Kukich, 38, is a Baltimore regional developer for Dill Dinkers, a company that plans to bring at least 30 new indoor pickleball locations to the Baltimore area and parts of Delaware over the next decade.

“I believe in the growth of pickleball,” Kukich said. “It fills a void, similar to what workout classes have filled for other people in their lives.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the trendy sport has exploded in popularity, including in Maryland.

Dill Dinkers, which calls itself Maryland’s first provider of indoor pickleball facilities, was founded by Will and Denise Richards of Howard County. The couple opened their first location in Columbia in November 2022, capitalizing on people’s desire to play the racket sport that is a bit like a mashup of tennis and ping pong.

The sports company offers open play, ball machines, lessons, clinics, tournaments and leagues.

In less than two years, Dill Dinkers has opened five corporate locations and has nearly 300 locations in development. It has Baltimore-area facilities in Columbia, Finksburg and elsewhere.

Kukich, a Locust Point resident, and attorneys Stella Vavas Sabracos and Bob Flynn, are working together as regional developers to find franchisees to meet Dill Dinkers’ expansion targets.

So far, their partnership has led to a Dill Dinkers in Cockeysville that is set to open at the end of this month and a White Marsh location scheduled for a fall debut. They have their eyes on possible locations in Canton and South Baltimore — but also want to plant roots in Anne Arundel, Harford and Baltimore counties, and on the Eastern Shore.

“One thing that’s important to understand about pickleball is that the sport is actually exploding from people that are 20 to 35 years old,” Kukich said. “We feel like that’s a great demographic for Baltimore City, and we’re really excited about it.”

Pickleball has been around for nearly 60 years and is one of the fastest-growing sports in America with about 48.3 million players nationwide, according to an Association of Pickleball Professionals release in 2023.

There are about 640 courts in Maryland, more than half of which are indoors, according to the national governing organization for the sport, USA Pickleball.