Pickleball’s popularity has been growing over the last decade or so, but the pandemic has boosted the sport’s status from what many saw as a fad played mainly by seniors to a full-fledged sport that’s literally taking over tennis courts across the city and country.
Nationwide, pickleball participation grew by 21.3% in 2020 alone, according to USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body.
The reason for pickleball’s pandemic popularity boom can be attributed to the ease with which people of all ages and athletic abilities can learn and play the sport, making it a fun way to socialize at a distance or for a multigenerational group to pass the time during quarantine. The sport was created back in 1965 by three dads whose families were sitting around with nothing to do – an all-too-familiar scenario in 2020 – and they envisioned pickleball as something they could all do together. Even the family dog, Pickles, was able to join in by chasing the ball, giving the inventors the idea for the sport’s unusual name.
Getting started
The game is basically a mash-up of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. The court is smaller than a tennis court – part of the reason pickleball is less strenuous and how it earned its “tennis lite” reputation – and the net is lower to the ground. YouTube has many videos that will prime you on the basics. If you prefer to read the rules, check out USA Pickleball’s site.