🥒🎾 Pickleball

Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court with a paddle and a perforated plastic ball. The serve is underhand, the non volley zone at the net is called the kitchen, and the mix of small court and slow ball is why it spreads so fast.

🚀 Start Here

• Pickleball Equipment List
• Pickleball Terms and Slang
• Best Pickleball Athletes of All Time
• Where Pickleball Is Most Popular
• The Tournaments That Matter

⏳ Pickleball History

• 1965: Invention of pickleball on Bainbridge Island, Washington by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum.
• 1970s: Steady growth of pickleball’s popularity across the United States and Canada; formation of a pickleball corporation in 1972; first known pickleball tournament at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington, in 1975.
• 1984: Establishment of the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), marking a significant milestone in pickleball history.
• 1990s: Continual growth in popularity across North America with over 1,000 courts built; first inclusion of pickleball in the Huntsman World Senior Games in 1997; introduction of the first pickleball paddles made of lightweight composite materials.
• 2000s: Expansion of pickleball’s presence internationally, reaching countries like India, Spain, and the United Kingdom; estimated 100,000 players actively involved in the sport by the end of the decade.
• 2010s: Rapid growth in popularity, attracting mainstream media attention and increased investment in the sport with over 2 million participants in youth and school programs, and over 15,000 pickleball courts in the United States in 2019.
• 2020s: Continued growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic; surged in popularity as a means of staying active during lockdowns and restrictions.