Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 34-inch-high (0.86 m) net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played indoors and outdoors. It was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States, on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. In 2021, pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.
Aspects of the sport resemble tennis and table tennis played on a doubles badminton court, but pickleball has specific scoring rules, paddles, balls and court lines. On each side of the net is a 7-foot area (2.1 m) known as the non-volley zone (or kitchen); a player standing there may not strike the ball before it has bounced. The hard plastic pickleball produces less bounce than a tennis ball. The limited bounce, non-volley zones, and underhanded stroke, with which all serves must be made, give the game a dynamic pace. Slow soft shots in the non-volley zone, called dinks, are used to limit the opponent's ability to attack, while balls that are returned too high might be struck with a powerful drive or overhead smash shot.
After its introduction in 1965, pickleball became a popular sport in the Pacific Northwest and gradually grew in popularity elsewhere. For four years in a row, 2021 through 2024, the sport was named the fastest-growing sport in the United States by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. By 2024, it was estimated there were 19.8 million participants in the United States, a 311% growth since 2021.
Two professional tours were established in the United States in 2019 and shortly thereafter two professional leagues were established. Pickleball is also growing in popularity outside the United States with two professional leagues and one professional tour operating in Australia, and others being developed in Asia.
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