[Sport] Pickleball: The racquet sport experiencing a pandemic boom

[rlex]

 

According to the Sport and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball participation grew by a whopping 21.3% last year as Americans looked for new ways to stay active during the pandemic.

That figure is part of a five-year trend that has seen pickleball evolve from its origins as a backyard knockabout game to a sport with Olympic aspirations.

"It's growing like crazy - in other parts of the world too," says Stu Upson, Chief Executive of USA Pickleball, the sport's national governing body. "There are 37 countries that are part of the International Pickleball Federation. That's more than double where it was 18 months ago."

Pickleball is a mash-up of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It can be played by singles or in pairs, either indoors or outside. The aim, like many racquet sports, is to get the ball over the net and prevent your opponent from hitting it back. The kitchen refers to the no-volley zone and dinking is a soft shot that sends the other player scrambling towards the net to reach the ball in time.

The game was invented in 1965 by US Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friend Bill Bell during a summer vacation on Bainbridge Island, Washington. It was an attempt to entertain bored children using whatever equipment came to hand. A decade later the first official pickleball tournament was held.

 

Fans say the game is addictive, partly because it's easy to play but still challenging as skills improve.

"Unlike tennis or golf where you need to take lessons just to become adequate, you can get on a pickleball court and within an hour or so you won't be terrible," says Mr Upson.

And it's sociable, a big bonus during the pandemic when people have been struggling to get together safely. As gyms and other recreation centres closed, pickleball became a po[CENSORED]r outdoor alternative.

"Pickleball players love other pickleball players," says Barbara Gulino, 62, from New Hampshire, who admits to hunting down games in unfamiliar places, lured by the sound of a perforated plastic ball hitting the sweet spot in the centre of a paddle.

"I remember one time my husband and I were in Florida, and we were walking down the street and we could hear the sound of a pickleball. We know that distinct 'pop'. And there we are looking through the hedges, pulling them apart and saying, look - pickleball people! There's a game going on!"