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What is Pickleball?
Pickleball is an exhilarating and fast-paced paddle sport that blends the best of badminton, tennis, and table tennis into one wildly fun game. It’s played on a compact court with a low net, where players use lightweight paddles to volley a lively, perforated ball back and forth.
The game’s unique combination of easy-to-learn rules, energetic gameplay, and a touch of strategy makes it incredibly engaging and a favorite among players of all ages.
A Brief History
Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, Washington. It was created by three friends – Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum – as a way to entertain their families during the summer. They improvised the game using ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball, playing on a badminton-sized court with a modified tennis net.
The game was named either after the Pritchards’ dog, Pickles, who loved to chase the ball, or as a reference to the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats. Over the years, pickleball has evolved, with formalized rules and specialized equipment, growing into a popular sport globally, especially among those seeking a social, active, and less physically demanding alternative to traditional racket sports.
How to play Pickleball
1. **The Court**: Pickleball is played on a court similar to a badminton court, measuring 20×44 feet. It’s divided into two equal halves by a net that stands 36 inches high at the ends and 34 inches in the middle.
2. **Equipment**: Players use solid paddles, which are larger than ping-pong paddles but smaller than tennis rackets, and a lightweight plastic ball with holes.
3. **Serving**: The game starts with an underhand serve from behind the baseline. The serve is made diagonally to the opponent’s service zone. The ball must bounce once before the receiver returns it, and the server must also let it bounce once before playing it again, which is known as the ‘two-bounce rule’.
4. **Scoring**: Points can only be scored by the serving side and games are typically played to 11, 15, or 21 points. However, the winning side must lead by at least 2 points.
5. **No-Volley Zone**: A key feature of pickleball is the ‘no-volley zone’ or ‘kitchen’, a 7-foot area on both sides of the net. Players are not allowed to volley (hit the ball in the air) while standing in this zone.
6. **Volleying and Rallies**: After the initial bounces on the serve and return, players can either volley the ball in the air or play it off a bounce. The objective is to hit the ball over the net within the bounds of the opponent’s court.
7. **Faults**: A point is lost if the ball is hit out of bounds, doesn’t clear the net, or is volleyed from the no-volley zone.
8. **Doubles and Singles**: Pickleball can be played in singles or doubles, with slight adjustments in serving and positioning.
