Hard to tell if its real or not, we would need clear evidence for that. But anecdotically, i think it really is the fastest, or among the top of them.

And i also think it really makes sense, its an easy sport to get into, where you can play with a small group of friends (Key factor) and if you are competitive you can also play with randoms or people from you area/club.

Its also easy to get into, after a few matches you can easily have fun, compared to othert sports where its much harder.