What is Pickleball - Overview of the Fastest-Growing Sport

Pick up a paddle and join in on one of the fastest-growing sports in the world! Pickleball has grown over 220% after the pandemic and continues to attract more players across all generations. The game is a mixture of badminton, tennis, and ping pong and boasts an extremely social player base across all age groups. You will find grandparents playing with players in their 20s and 30s as the game is extremely fun.

Most people agree that it is easier on the body than other racket sports and provides a good amount of workout. We have discussed a detailed history of pickleball and its rise to popularity here.

Pickleball is often associated with a new-age sport like tennis, badminton, and ping pong. It can be said pickleball has the qualities of these racket sports. It has been growing in popularity steadily due to the short learning curve such that it is easier for beginners to pick the sport and play but has a high skill ceiling. The game’s simplicity makes it appealing to various age groups which remain crucial in the game’s history.

The pickleball sport is played with a paddle-shaped racket and a ball similar to a ping pong ball and can be played indoors or outdoors court similar to a tennis court although a bit smaller. The rules and scoring for the game are discussed below.

Pickleball was invented in the year 1965 by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum at Bainbridge Islands in the USA. The game, since then has involved being among the most popular racket sports in the world, especially in the USA, Canada, and India

In 1965, when Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum were unable to find badminton rackets to play on their stay at Bainbridge Island, they used ping pong paddles and perforated balls and modified the tennis court to suit the bounce and playability of the ball. The rules were decided which was heavily inspired by badminton.

This started as the first game of pickleball. As the years went by, an accurate pickleball court and set of rules were introduced, which pushed to game’s awareness among the sport, and a new pickleball corporation was formed in the year 1972.

In 1976, the first pickleball tournament was held where most tennis players participated and used improvised paddles during the games. By the year 1990, 50 states played pickleball and participated in different state and national competitions. As of 2024, more than 36 million people across all age groups play pickleball.

Pickleball court dimensions are derived from the badminton and tennis court sizes. The size is a fair bit smaller than a full-size tennis court. The size of a pickleball court is 44 feet in total which is divided into 22 feet in each half. The height of the net is 34 inches in the center and 36 inches at the sidelines. You can learn more about the pickleball court in our pickleball court guide where we discussed the details in length and explained the rules in detail.

Pickleball is growing in popularity due to simplicity in gameplay where anyone can pick up a paddle and get on with a game of pickleball. A pickleball game can be played in singles or in doubles per side. The rules are similar whether the game is played indoors or outdoors.

During the pickleball serve the player’s arm should be moving in an upward angle and the head of the paddle should not be below waist height. However, A drop serve is also allowed where these rules are exempt. There is also a variety of this serve called the toss serve.

The points can be scored by the serving team. In a casual setup, a pickleball game is of 11 points while the official game varies between 15 or 21 points. The sides/serve chosen are usually done by a coin flip where the toss winner can either choose a side or the serve. We have curated a detailed guide on pickleball rules you can follow to be the best player on the court.

If you are excited to watch a game of pickleball and wonder how the pros play the game you must watch out for these 5 best pickleball championships. These championships have some of the best talents playing the game. These Pickleball Championships are as follows -

Minto US Open Pickleball Championships

USA Pickleball Nationals championship

PPA Hyundai Masters

Baird Health Management Cincinnati Open

Indoor National Championships- Hyundai Masters

You can check the best pickleball players on the PPAtours website. As of now, Benjamin Johns, Federico Stakrud, and McGuffin lead the race in the Men’s single category while Anne Leigh Waters, Catherine Parenteau, and Mary Brascia are the frontrunners in the women’s single category. The Men’s and the women’s double-category rankings are also posted on the website.

As of 2024, around 36 million players actively play pickleball and the data suggests, there is plenty of room for a racket sport as fun as pickleball to thrive. With growing awareness about the sport, Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Gary Vaynerchuk, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Influencers like Kim Kardashian all joined in the craze of pickleball. Going by the latest data, Pickleball growth rate is expected to grow at a pace of 7.7% compounded annual growth until 2028. The data shows a healthy growth in the market size of pickleball which is great for the sport’s ecosystem

Conclusion

Pickleball has been emerging as the top sport in America and has been growing in countries like Canada, India, Brazil, and others. This racket sport has the potential to become among the top sports in the world provided the interest of its community, government, and players stay true to the sport and make the game fun

The ‘Pickleball’ name has two theories one of which It is named after one of its inventors, Joel Pritchard’s dog Pickles, while another theory states that the name is a reference to a pickle boat used to carry leftover non-starters in a crew race.

The popularity of pickleball because it is easy to learn with simpler rules than other racket sports. Also, people of all age groups can take part in a game which makes the game family friendly and fun.

The best way to learn pickleball is to pick up a paddle and get going! You shouldn’t worry about the rules and strategies initially and look forward to playing and having fun. After you have familiarized yourself with the game, check the strategy and rules guide and join a community for a pickleball game. You can also hire a coach to prepare you professionally.

There are many differences between tennis and pickleball. The most obvious difference would be the pickleball paddle vs a tennis racket. We have discussed all the similarities and differences between pickleball and tennis so you can choose which sport you wish to pick.

Pickleball is played mostly in the USA. However, countries like Canada, India, Brazil, and others are also picking up the sport through local tournaments and the creation of governing bodies. Almost 70 countries have joined the International Federation of Pickleball which shows that Pickleball is here to stay.