Pickleball

Pickleball

Highest governing body	International Pickleball Federation[1]
First played	1965, Bainbridge Island, Washington, U.S.
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	Singles or doubles
Mixed-sex	Yes, separate singles, doubles, & mixed doubles
Type	Outdoor or indoor, racket sport
Equipment	Plastic pickleball, composite or wooden paddle, and net
Venue	Outdoor or indoor, pickleball court
Glossary	Glossary of pickleball terms
Presence
Country or region	Worldwide
Olympic	No
Paralympic	No
World Games	No

Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two players (singles) or four players (doubles) use a paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 34-inch-high (0.86 m) net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played indoors and outdoors. It was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States, on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. In 2022, pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.^[2]

Aspects of the sport resemble tennis and table tennis, but pickleball has specific rules, paddles and court dimensions. The court is 44 feet (13.4m) long and 20 feet (6.1m) wide, and the paddle is larger than the one used in table tennis. The hard plastic ball used in pickleball produces less bounce than tennis balls. On each side of the net is a 7-foot area (2.1 m) known as the non-volley zone (or the kitchen); a player standing therein may not strike the ball until it has bounced. The rules specify side out scoring, where only the server side can score a point. The limited bounce, non-volley zones, and underhanded stroke, with which all serves are made, combined with hard drive shots and overhead smash shots, give the game a dynamic pace.

Between 1965 and 2020, pickleball became a popular sport in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and began to grow in popularity elsewhere. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the sport was named the fastest-growing sport in the United States by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, and by 2023 it was estimated to have over 4.8 million players. The growing popularity of the sport has been attributed to its short learning curve, its appeal to a wide range of ages and fitness levels, and its low startup costs. There are now thousands of pickleball courts and tournaments throughout the United States, along with two professional tours and two professional leagues. Pickleball is also growing in popularity outside the United States.