Katie Couric Shares Photo of Bruised Face on Instagram

Katie Couric is on the mend after suffering a painful injury. In a Friday, Dec. 13 Instagram Stories update, the beloved journalist, 67, revealed the nasty-looking bruise she suffered in a pickleball accident.

In the post, which you can view on TMZ here, Couric could be seen sporting a swelling welt on her forehead that appeared to be turning blue and purple. Couric, who sported a Stand Up To Cancer shirt, revealed in the caption that the injury was the result of a mishap while playing the sport, writing, “When you hit yourself in the head with the pickleball paddle.”

In a second post to her Instagram Stories, Couric hilariously posed with her friends, all of whom held pickleball paddles. The broadcaster, who previously worked for CBS News and ABC News, held an ice pack to her head, looking a bit embarrassed by the mishap. She captioned the snapshot, “my queens.”

Couric isn’t alone in the pickleball-related injury. Doctors have said that pickleball injuries are on the rise in 2024 as the sport grows in popularity. According to an analysis of a large government injury database presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in February 2024, per NBC News, pickleball-related bone fractures increased 200% over the last 20 years, 92% of which occurred during falls. The study found that women were more likely than men to experience a fracture, and most of those fractures were in upper-body bones, such as those in the forearms and hands. Other common pickleball-related injuries include rotator cuff injuries, worsening of arthritis, Achilles tendon tears/strains, and foot fractures.

Thankfully, Couric seems to be recovering just fine from her pickleball accident. She returned to her Instagram Stories not long after that Dec. 13 post to share a photo of herself getting into the Christmas spirit. In the post, Couric dressed up in a Christmas skirt. She captioned the photo, “ready to rock around the Christmas tree now.”

Couric has remained active on the social media platform in the days since. She recently revealed that she was enjoying some time in Aspen, Colorado, joking in one photo, “I’m not skiing just pretending.” In another photo, snapped as she enjoyed lunch outside on a sunny day, Couric again donned her a Stand Up To Cancer shirt, as January 2025 will mark the 27th anniversary of the death of her first husband, John “Jay” Monaghan.

Monaghan, whom Couric welcomed two daughters with – Ellie, 33, and Carrie, 28 – during their nine-year marriage, died of colon cancer in 1998 at the age of 42. Reflecting on her late husband’s passing in 2021, Couric said, “I understand the fragility of life in a way that will always be with me. It also makes me realize the futility of being mad at somebody, of petty arguments. I always think about what David Cassidy said on his deathbed: ‘So much wasted time.’”