Pickleball

Pickleball is a racquet sport which combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. The sport is played on a court with the same dimensions as a doubles badminton court. The net is similar to a tennis net, but is mounted two inches lower. The game is played with a hard paddle and a polymer wiffle ball.

Although pickleball appears to be very similar to tennis, there are key differences that make pickleball more accessible to a wider range of players, particularly children and seniors. Chief among these differences is the speed of the pickleball ball which typically moves at one-third of the average speed of a tennis ball. Equally important, however, is the size of the court which is just under one-third of the total area of a tennis court. This smaller area combined with the slower moving ball makes pickleball much easier to play than tennis.

Originally invented as a backyard pastime, pickleball is now an organized sport represented by national and international governing bodies. Since its inception in 1965, pickleball has spread across the United States and into Canada. It is now beginning to spread around the world. The United States Pickleball Association estimates there are more than 100,000 active pickleball players in that country alone. In Canada, where the game is still relatively new, there are already more than 5,000 players in just four provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario. Meanwhile new organizations like the Singapore Pickleball Association and the All India Pickleball Association are bringing the game to Asia and beyond.

History

The game started during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island at the home of Joel Pritchard, US House of Representatives for the State of Washington. He and two of his friends, William Bell, Barney McCallum, returned from golf and found the kids bored. They attempted to set up badminton but no one could find the shuttlecock. They improvised with a whiffle ball, lowered the badminton net, and cut paddles from plywood.

The unusual name of the game originated with Joan Pritchard, who said it reminded her of the "Pickle Boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats." (See reference #4 below) The popular story told today is that it was named after the family dog. Joan corrected this story in interviews but the story persists. As the story is told, the whiffle ball belonged to the dog. Whenever an errant shot happened, Pickles would run and try to get the ball back. They named the game for their dog’s ball, “Pickles’ Ball”, then it became Pickleball. It's a good story, but the truth is the Pritchard family didn't get the dog until 1967. (See Reference 5 below) Actually, the dog was named after the sport.

The court

The pickleball court is similar to a doubles badminton court. The actual size of the court is 20×44 feet for both doubles and singles. The net is hung at 36 inches on the ends, and 34 inches in the middle. The court is striped like a tennis court, with no alleys; but the outer courts, and not the inner courts, are divided in half by service lines. The inner courts are no-volley zones, and extend 7 feet from the net on either side.

Play

The ball is served underhand starting from the right-hand side of the court and is served diagonally to the opponent’s service zone.

Points are scored by the serving side only and occur when the opponent faults (fails to return ball, hits ball out of bounds, etc.). The server continues to serve, alternating service courts, until the server faults. The first side scoring eleven points and leading by at least two points wins.

The return of service must be allowed to bounce by the server and partner i.e. cannot be volleyed. Consequently the server's partner usually stays at the baseline until the first return has been hit back.

Terminology

Baseline — The line at the back of the pickleball court (22 feet from the net).

Centerline — The line bisecting the service courts that extends from one side to the other.

Crosscourt — The opponent's court diagonally opposite yours.

Dink — A dink is a soft shot, made with the paddle face open, and hit so that it just clears the net and drops into the non-volley zone.^[1]

Fault — An event that ends with the server giving up his serve to the other side.

Foot fault — When ones foot enters into the non-volley zone.

Half-volley - A type of hit where the player hits the ball immediately after it has bounced in an almost scoop-like fashion.

Let serve — A serve that touches the top of the net and lands in the proper service court (it is replayed without penalty).

Non-volley zone — A seven-foot area adjacent to the net within which you may not volley the ball. The non-volley zone usually includes all lines around it.

Poach — In doubles, to cross over into your partner's area to play a ball.

Rally — Hitting the ball back and forth between opposite teams.

Serve (Service) — An underhand lob or drive stroke used to put a ball into play at the beginning of a point.

Server number — When playing doubles, either “1” or “2,” depending on whether you are the first or second server for your side. This number is appended to the score when it is called. As in, the score is now 4 - 2 - second server.

Sideline — The line at the side of the court denoting in- and out-of-bounds.

Volley — To hit the ball before it bounces.

Players - 2 or 4

References

^ Leach, G: The Art of Pickleball, page 52. Acacia Publishing, 2005.

2. History of Pickleball http://worldpickleball.com/pickleball-history

3. Guinness World Record: Longest Continuous Pickleball Game (Singles) http://www.worldrecordsacademy.org/games/longest_pickleball_game_Jeffrey_Baker_and_Justin_Lawrence_sets_world_record_112339.html

4. Origins of Pickleball by Joan Pritchard (wife of the late Joel Pritchard) http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/507610.html?nav=5055

5. The Doggone Lies About Pickleball http://pugetsoundblogs.com/bainbridge-conversation/2009/01/16/the-doggone-lies-about-pickleball/

External links

[1] Leach, G: The Art of Pickleball, page 52. Acacia Publishing, 2005.

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