Pickleball

In the United States, pickleball (also known as Pickle-Ball) is a paddleball sport (akin to a racket sport) that incorporates aspects of badminton, table tennis, and tennis into one game. Play is performed over a net by 2 or 4 players with solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to strike a perforated polymer ball that looks similar to a wiffle ball but has 26–40 round holes. The sport has several characteristics with other racquet sports, including as the size and layout of a badminton court, as well as a net and regulations that are similar to tennis, but with a few differences.

Pickleball was first played in the mid-1960s as a backyard pastime for youngsters and has since grown in popularity. The popularity of the sport at community centres, physical education programmes, public parks, private health clubs, YMCA facilities, and retirement homes is credited with its widespread adoption by the general public. Every year, dozens of pickleball events take place in various locations around the United States, including the U.S. Pickleball National Championships and the U,S. Open Pickleball Championship, as well as several foreign competitions.