Pickleball – The Trending Sport Explained Simply
Pickleball, the trending sport from the USA, is winning over more and more fans here too, from the very young to the very old. But what exactly is pickleball, how do you play it and what equipment do you need for it?
What is pickleball?
Pickleball is a racket sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, and it is one of the fastest-growing sports of all. Pickleball is played by two or four players on a court that has the dimensions of a badminton court. The net, however, sits at the height of a tennis net. It is played with plastic paddles that have a solid hitting surface instead of strings, and the balls are made of plastic with holes in them.
Who invented pickleball?
Pickleball was invented in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. At Pritchard's summer house on Bainbridge Island in the US state of Washington, the three friends wanted to find a game they could play together with their children.
The equipment they had at their disposal was a badminton net, table tennis paddles and a Wiffle ball. This perforated plastic ball, about the size of a baseball, is normally used for the game of the same name, Wiffle ball, a simpler form of the traditional American sport, developed especially for children and inexperienced players.
After the whole family had taken great pleasure in the new game, which at first still had no name, Joel Pritchard built the first pickleball court in the sport's still young history in his garden two years later.
Where does the name pickleball come from?
Several stories surround the origin of the name pickleball. One of them claims that the name goes back to Joel Pritchard's wife Joan, who was reminded of the "pickle boat" in rowing. This "leftovers boat" is crewed by those rowers who did not make it into one of the competition boats.
According to another legend, the name goes back to Pritchard's dog Pickles, who often grabbed the ball and ran off with it. There is also a third version, which comes from co-inventor Bill Bell. He apparently liked nothing better than hitting the ball in a way that landed his opponent in serious trouble – in English: put the opponent in a pickle.
Which of these stories is the true one will probably never be settled for good, but one thing is certain: pickleball is fun for the whole family!
How do you play pickleball?
Pickleball is easy to learn and great fun for the whole family across the generations – exactly as its inventors intended. Even at an advanced age you can still take up the sport, and there is also a version for wheelchair users. Pickleball is played outdoors or indoors. On a court the size of a badminton court, two or four players face each other, and as in tennis, mixed doubles are allowed as well.
The pickleball court is divided into two halves, each of which contains two service boxes. On both sides of the net lies the non-volley zone, also known as the kitchen. Volleys are not allowed in this area, and it may only be entered after the ball has touched the ground. In pickleball, the ball is played back over the net for as long as it takes for the opposing side to make a mistake.