Pickleball

The Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIAA) named pickleball the fastest growing sport in the United States in 2022 with nearly 5 million Americans participating. This court-based sport uses a solid racket or a paddle to hit a ball back and forth over a short net. It can be played on an outdoor or indoor court by two singles players or four doubles players. Although the game resembles tennis, the pickleball court is smaller, about the size of a badminton court. The ball is also different as it is a hard plastic perforated ball that does not bounce as much.

Pickleball is a fast-paced game with a strategy that uses a variety of moves, including soft hits on a bounce, called dinks, that stay within the two non-volley zones, more powerful drive shots, and overhead smash shots. Pickleball volleys are produced by the minimal ball bounce paired with the non-volley zone and underhand serve. The game continues volleying the ball over the net until a rule is broken and a score is made.

Background

The game of pickleball was created in 1965 by three fathers, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum, as a game to entertain their children using an old badminton court on Bainbridge Island, just outside of Seattle, Washington. To commemorate this event, the state of Washington designated pickleball to be the official state sport in 2022. Since its backyard beginnings, the game has evolved from ping-pong paddles and a plastic ball laying around the house to specialized courts, equipment, and rules.

In 1972, a corporation was created by Pritchard, his son, and two friends to protect the sport they created by trademarking the name and the concept. In 1976, the first pickleball tournament was held in Tukwila, Washington. Many of the players were not familiar with the game, but the majority of them were college students who played tennis and could easily adapt to the new sport. The game further gained popularity, and by the early 1980s more tournaments were organized around Washington. In 1984, the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) was organized, and the group published a rule book.

The USAPA governs the sport in the United States, and since 2012, the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) has been the governing body of pickleball in the international community. The IFP hopes to make pickleball an Olympic sport by 2024 or 2028. Although the sport is quite popular in the United States, it does not yet meet the conditions for enough international players to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee. However, as popularity continues to increase, international attention to the sport is also growing. With several additional national and international championships, pickleball is beginning to expand outside of the United States; courts are being created, equipment is being sold in sporting goods stores and online, and leagues have been formed.

Pickleball won the Sports and Fitness Industry Association's title of fastest-growing sport in the United States in 2021 and 2022. Numerous aspects of the sport, including its accessibility to people of all ages and fitness levels and its low equipment cost to get started, are thought to fuel the increase in interest in it. Numerous pickleball competitions, such as the US National Championships and the US Open, are held throughout the country. In addition, there is a professional league and two professional tours.

Overview

The Pickleball-specific court can be indoors or outdoors and is 20-by-44 feet with markings and regulations that are similar to tennis or badminton. In fact, the courts are often converted from old tennis or badminton courts. Each side has right and left service courts and two non-volley zones in front of the net. Each non-volley zone measures seven feet on either side of the net, where the ball cannot be hit with the paddle without first bouncing. This non-volley zone is known as the “kitchen.” The net hangs at 36 inches high on the sidelines and 34 inches high in the middle. The play can be either doubles with four players, or singles, with two players, much like tennis or badminton.

Standard equipment includes each player having a solid paddle, which is between the size of a tennis racquet and a ping-pong paddle. While the original paddles were made of wood, modern paddles are made from lightweight composite materials. The hollow and perforated plastic polymer ball can be of various colors, but regulations require it to be of only a single color, not multicolored. Different styles of balls are used for indoor versus outdoor courts.

Only the serving team may score a point, according to the official rules for scoring. The score is announced by the official overseeing the match or the server. The players also must deliver every serve with an underhanded motion. Before either team may volley the ball—hitting the ball in the air before it bounces—the ball must bounce once on each side of the net to limit any advantage the serving side or receiving side may have early in the game. This is known as the two-bounce rule. The ball continues in play in what is called a rally, until a fault is committed, which results in a point for the other player or team.

Volleys are shots hit back and forth without a bounce in between. After the ball has bounced once, shots are called groundstrokes. Dinks are soft and controlled strategic groundstrokes that are hit upward by a player into the opponent’s non-volley zone. This shot slows the game and causes a faster or stronger player to move out of their position to return the hit, thus equalizing their advantage game. There are also other specialized shots, such as drive shots, lobs, smash shots, and drop shots, that experienced players seek to master in advanced play.

Bibliography

“About IFP.” International Federation of Pickleball, 2022, www.ifpickleball.org/about-ifp. Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.

DeMelo, June. “Why Is Pickleball So Popular” The New York Times, 3 Sept. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/well/move/pickleball-popular-sport.html. Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.

“History of the Game.” USA Pickleball,2022, usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/history-of-the-game/ usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.

“Pickleball Basics” USA Pickleball, 2022, usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/how-to-play-old/basics/dinks/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.

“Pickleball Is the Fastest-Growing Sport for Second Year in a Row, Growing by 39.3%.” USA Pickleball, 16 Feb. 2022, usapickleball.org/news/fastest-growing-sport/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.

Quinton, Sean. “Pickleball Is Exploding in WA. What Makes It So Popular.” Seattle Times, 4 Sept. 2022, www.seattletimes.com/sports/pickleball-is-exploding-in-wa-what-makes-it-so-popular/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.

“What Is Pickleball.” USA Pickleball, 2022, usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.

“Will Pickleball Be an Olympic Sport?” Pickleball University, 10 Feb. 2022, www.pickleballuniversity.com/home/will-pickleball-be-an-olympic-sport. Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.