Wikipedia

Pickleball

(Redirected from Joan Pritchard)

Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two players (singles) or four players (doubles) 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 2022, pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.[1]

Pickleball
Highest governing bodySee Governing body
First played1965, Bainbridge Island, Washington, U.S.
Characteristics
ContactNo
Team membersSingles or doubles
Mixed-sexYes, separate singles, doubles, & mixed doubles
TypeOutdoor or indoor, racket sport
EquipmentPlastic pickleball, composite or wooden paddle, and net
VenueOutdoor or indoor, pickleball court
GlossaryGlossary of pickleball
Presence
Country or regionWorldwide
OlympicNo
ParalympicNo
World GamesNo

Aspects of the sport resemble tennis and table tennis, but pickleball has specific rules, paddles and court dimensions. The court is 44 feet (13.4 m) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, and the paddle is larger than the one used in table tennis. The hard plastic ball used in pickleball produces less bounce than tennis balls. On each side of the net is a 7-foot area (2.1 m) known as the non-volley zone (or the kitchen); a player standing there may not strike the ball until it has bounced. The rules specify side out scoring, where only the server side can score a point. The limited bounce, non-volley zones, and underhanded stroke, with which all serves are made, combined with hard drive shots and overhead smash shots, give the game a dynamic pace.[2]

After its introduction in 1965, pickleball became a popular sport in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and gradually grew in popularity elsewhere. By 2023 it was estimated to have over 8.9 million players in the United States.[3] For three years in a row, 2021, 2022, and 2023, the sport was named the fastest-growing sport in the United States by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The growing popularity of the sport has been attributed to its short learning curve, its appeal to a wide range of ages and fitness levels, and its low startup costs.

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 a professional league already operating in Australia, and another being developed in India for the 2025/26 season

Etymology

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The game was created in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, at the summer home of Joel Pritchard, who later served in the United States Congress and as Washington's lieutenant governor.[4] Pritchard and two of his friends, Barney McCallum and Bill Bell, are credited with devising the game and establishing the rules.

According to Joan Pritchard, Joel Pritchard's wife, "The name of the game became Pickle Ball after I said it reminded me of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats."[5] Similarly, the game of pickleball was created from leftover equipment from several sports; a badminton court, table tennis paddles, a wiffle ball and a net height like that of tennis.

Other sources state that the name "pickleball" was derived from the name of the Pritchards' family dog, Pickles.[6] The Pritchards stated that the dog came along after the game had already been named, and it was the dog that was named for the game of pickleball. They said the confusion arose when a reporter interviewing the Pritchards in the early 1970s decided it would be easier for readers to relate to the dog rather than a pickle boat. Representatives of USA Pickleball claim that research on their part has confirmed that the dog Pickles was born after the game had already been named.[7]

Jennifer Lucore and Beverly Youngren, authors of the book History of Pickleball: More than 50 Years of Fun!, say that they could not conclusively determine whether the game was named for the dog or the dog was named for the game.[8] They did, however, discover a third possibility: Bill Bell claimed that he had named the game because he enjoyed hitting the ball in a way that would put his opponent in a pickle.[8]

Shortly after the game was invented, some of its inventors and their friends brought pickleball to Hawaii, where the game became known as pukaball. Puka, meaning "hole" in Hawaiian, was at first used to refer to the ball, since pickleballs have numerous holes, and later used to refer to the game itself.[9]

History

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Invention

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Outdoor pickle-ball court in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 2023

When Pritchard and Bell returned from golf one Saturday afternoon in 1965, they found their families bored.[10] They had attempted to set up badminton, but no one could find the shuttlecock. Pritchard and Bell challenged their kids to devise their own game. The adults and kids ended up at the badminton court and began experimenting with different balls and rackets, including table tennis paddles. The 5-foot (1.5-metre) badminton net was eventually lowered to hip level to accommodate driving the ball.[11]

Initially, a Wiffle ball was thought to be the ideal ball, but later the Cosom Fun Ball was found to be more durable and provided a better playing experience.[12] The table tennis paddles were quickly replaced with larger, more durable plywood paddles fabricated in a nearby shed.[5][13][6] McCallum continued to experiment with various paddle designs in his father's Seattle basement workshop.[14] One paddle, he called the "M2", or McCallum 2, became the paddle of choice for most early players of the game.[15] Over the summer Pritchard, Bell and McCallum worked together to refine and document the rules.

Pickle Ball, Inc.

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In 1967, the first dedicated outdoor Pickleball court was constructed at the residence of Pritchard's friend, Bob O'Brian.[16] Soon after its creation, pickleball became popular with local neighbors and relatives of the inventors. In 1968, Pritchard, along with McCallum's son David and two other friends, formed Pickle Ball, Inc.[17] The company filed its first annual report in 1972,[18] around the same time they trademarked the name Pickle-ball.[19] The company manufactured wooden paddles and pickleball kits to satisfy the demand for the sport.[13] Interest in pickleball continued to grow, and spread from the Pacific Northwest into warmer areas as "snowbirds" brought the sport south to Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Florida. In 2016, Pickle Ball, Inc. was purchased by PickleballCentral.com,[20] which operates under the corporate name Olla, LLC.

Tournaments

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Brothers Collin Johns (Left) and Ben Johns after winning the Men's Doubles title at the PPA Carvana Arizona Grand Slam Presented by Hyundai in February 2023.

A 1976 tournament held at the Southcenter Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington, is credited with being the first formal pickleball tournament. It was billed as "The World's First Pickleball Championship" by Joel Pritchard and received a mention in the July 1976 edition of Tennis magazine.[21] The United States Amateur Pickleball Association (U.S.A.P.A.), now known as USA Pickleball or USAP, was formed in 1984. In the same year they published the first official rulebook for the sport and held the first National Doubles Championships in Tacoma, Washington.

By 1990, the sport was being played in all 50 states.[22] In 2001, pickleball was included as a demonstration sport in the Arizona Senior Olympics (ASO) with 100 participants. The pickleball tournament was held at the Happy Trails RV Resort in Surprise, Arizona, and within five years included 275 participants. The inclusion of pickleball in the ASO was seen as a significant contributor to the growth of tournaments in the United States.[23] In 2008 the sport was included in the United States Senior Olympics.

USA Pickleball held its first U.S. Pickleball National Championships in Buckeye, Arizona, November 2009. It has continued to hold the National Championships each year in various locations, except in 2020, when the games were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] Ironically, the COVID-19 pandemic was credited with driving more people to the sport as people looked for outdoor activities.[25]

Professional tournaments began in 2019 when two professional tours were formed independently. The Association of Pickleball Professionals (now the Association of Pickleball Players) was established and sanctioned by USA Pickleball. The Pickleball Professionals Association was also established, but did not seek sanctioning by the USAP.

Official recognition

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State Senator John Lovick proposed a bill making pickleball the official sport of Washington state in 2021. Pickleball was then named the official state sport of Washington in 2022 by the state legislature. On March 28, 2022, the legislation was signed by Governor Jay Inslee on the original Pritchard family court where the sport was invented.[26][27]

Growth

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The 2023 report by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) states that pickleball has grown 87.5% year-over-year and 158.6% over three years.[3] The report also states that 8.9 million people played pickleball in 2022 and the number of new participants in 2022 exceeded the total number of pickleball players in 2021, which shows the meteoric rise of the sport.[3]

Pickleball participation grew in every region in the United States according to the report by the SFIA. The South Atlantic region (includes DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, and VA) had the most pickleball players with 1.9 million players. The Pacific region was second with 1.5 million players and the East North Central region came in third with 1.4 million players.[3] In May 2024, CNBC noted, citing a report from the Trust for Public Land, the number of outdoor pickleball courts in major cities went up 650% in the last seven years, with more than 3,000 courts across 100 of the most populated cities in the US.[28]

The SFIA estimates that approximately 900 million dollars of court infrastructure investment is needed to keep up with the fast growth of the sport. To illustrate the need for this infrastructure, the SFIA has reported that the Middle Atlantic region (includes NY, NJ, and PA) had the lowest court coverage with 1 dedicated court for 1000 participants.[3]

The growth of professional pickleball has attracted investors such as NBA player LeBron James, retired NFL quarterback Drew Brees, and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. This increased visibility has helped raise the sport's popularity in recent years.[29][30]

The Apple Heart and Movement Study, a collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the American Heart Association, and Apple, found that among Apple Watch users the number of pickleball players surpassed tennis for the first time in July 2023.[31]

Injuries

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The rise of competitive play has also led to more injuries, according to recent analyses by the insurance industry which found treatment costs for pickleball injuries have increased as participation has grown.[32] Common pickleball injuries involve muscles, joints and tendons, especially in the shoulder, elbow and wrist (which proper technique, equipment, warm-up routines and injury prevention can help reduce). Advocates of the sport's growth say that pickleball is an activity that can provide exercise and social connections for players of all ages and skill levels.

Court and equipment

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Dimensions of a pickleball court
 
A pickleball paddle with one 26–hole pickleball (left) and one 40–hole pickleball (right)

Court

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The regulation size of the court is 20 feet (6.1 m) by 44 feet (13 m) for both doubles and singles, the same size as a doubles badminton court. A line seven feet (2.1m) from the net is the non-volley line. Twenty-two feet (6.7 m) from the net, the baseline marks the outer boundary of the playing area. The area bounded by the non-volley line, the sidelines, and the net, including the lines, is known as the non-volley zone or "kitchen". The area between the non-volley line and the baseline is the service court. A center line divides the service court into left and right sides.[33] Regulated tournaments and games are usually played on a specialized polyurethane sport surface; however, courts are often set up on concrete, Astroturf, and indoor basketball courts.[34]

Net

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The net is 36 inches (0.91 m) high on the ends and 34 inches (0.86 m) high at the center. The net posts should be 22 feet (6.7 m) from the inside of one post to the inside of the other post.[35]

Ball

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A Wiffle ball was the original ball used when the game was invented. USA Pickleball (USAP) has since adopted specific ball standards unique to pickleball. Balls must be made of a durable molded material with a smooth surface and must have between 26 and 40 evenly spaced circular holes. They must weigh between .78 and .935 ounces (22.1 and 26.5 g) and measure between 2.87 and 2.97 inches (73 and 75 mm) in diameter. Tournaments sanctioned by the USAP and IPF must choose from a list of preapproved balls found on the USAP and IPF websites.[36]

Balls with smaller holes are generally used for outdoor play to minimize the effects of wind, but any sanctioned ball can be used for either indoor or outdoor play.[37]

Paddle

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For sanctioned games, USAP and IPF paddle size standards say the combined length and width of the paddle shall not exceed 24 inches (0.61 m); the length cannot exceed 17 inches (0.43 m).[38] There are no requirements regarding thickness or weight. The paddle must be made of a non-compressible material and the surface of the paddle must be smooth. Paddles used in sanctioned tournaments must be on the list of preapproved paddles found on the USAP and IPF websites.[39]

Order of play

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Service in
 
Service out

Any fair way of determining who will serve first and from which side is acceptable.

Announcing the score and serving

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The score must be announced before each serve. If a referee is officiating the game, the referee announces the score, otherwise the serving player announces the score.

In doubles: the score has three parts; the serving team's score, the receiving team's score, and the server number, a "1" or "2", that indicates whether the server is the serving team's first or second server after a side out. The first server of the game is always considered the serving team's second server. The starting score in doubles is announced as "zero zero two (0 0 2)".[40][41][42]

In singles: The score has two parts; the serving player's score and the receiving player's score. The starting score in singles is always announced as "zero zero".

The first serve of the game is made from right side of the serving teams's court or the "even service" court.

Two-bounce rule

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A serve must land in the diagonally opposite service court on the opponent's side of the net (see "service in" diagram). The serve receiver must allow the ball to bounce once before returning the ball to the server's side of the net. Once the receiver has returned the ball over the net, the serving side must also allow the ball to bounce once before returning the ball to the non-serving side. This is known as the two-bounce rule.[43]

After the first two returns, either side may volley the ball—that is, return it before it bounces. The ball can never bounce more than once before it is returned. No player may volley the ball while standing in the non-volley zone or touching any of the lines around the non-volley zone or "kitchen".

Remainder of play

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A pickleballer preparing to return the ball using a backhand stroke

A server continues to serve, alternating between the right and left service courts until their team commits a fault.

Doubles: At the beginning of a doubles game, the side serving first is only allowed one fault before their side is "out", called a side out, and the serve passes to their opponent. After the first side out of the game, each team is allowed two faults before a side out is called, allowing each of the players on a doubles team to serve before the serve passes to the other team. A team's second server must continue alternating between the right and left service courts from wherever their partner left off. For example, if their partner's last serve was from the right service court, the second server must start serving on the left service court. After a side out, the first serve is always initiated from the right serving area.

Singles: A side out is called each time the serving side commits a fault. If the serving player's score is even (including zero), they must serve from the right, or even, service court; otherwise, they must serve from the left, or odd, service court. Depending on the current score, the first serve after a side out can be from either the right or left service court.

Pickleball is usually played to a score of 11. The winning team must win by two points or play continues until one team wins by two.[44] Tournament games may be played to 11, 15 or 21 points with players rotating sides when either team reaches 6, 8 or 11 points respectively.

Manner of play

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Scoring

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Pickleball utilizes side out scoring, meaning only the serving side may score a point. The serving team earns one point each time the non-serving team commits a fault. Neither team earns a point when the serving team commits a fault. Since the score is always called as the serving side's score followed by the receiving side's score, the two scores are reversed whenever a side out occurs. For example, if the serving team faults when the score is "five three two" (two indicating the second server), a side out occurs, the other team becomes the new serving team, and the score is stated as "three five one".

Serving

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When serving, the server must be behind the baseline on one side of the center line and serve the ball to the opponent's diagonally opposite service court. Two types of serves are permitted, a volley serve or a drop serve.

  • Volley serve: When the server's paddle strikes a ball without the ball contacting the ground, it must be served with an underarm stroke so that contact with the ball is made below the waist in an upward arc, and the highest point on the paddle head must be below the wrist. In 2022, the USAPA announced a rule change that became effective in 2023: imparting spin onto the ball during its release from the hand (known as the 'spin serve') was banned.[45]
  • Drop serve: When a ball is dropped to the ground and allowed to bounce before the server's paddle strikes it, the ball cannot be tossed or impelled by the server in any way. The ball can bounce more than once before being hit, and unlike the volley serve, there are no restrictions on how the player must hit the ball.[46]

Player positioning

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Besides the server, there are no rules dictating where each player must stand when the serve is initiated, but serve receivers usually start behind the baseline until they know where the serve will bounce. The receiver's partner usually starts near the non-volley line also known as the kitchen line. The server's partner usually stays behind the baseline with the server until they know where the first service return will bounce. Some doubles partners use a strategy called stacking to ensure each partner can quickly move to the most advantageous side of the court, based on each partner's skill set, after each serve and/or service return.[47]

Serving from the wrong side of the court, the wrong player serving or the wrong player returning a serve should be avoided. Though not a fault since USA Pickleball changed the rule in 2024,[33] player positions should be corrected as soon as they are noticed. If noticed during a rally, the rally should be stopped and restarted. If noticed after the rally is finished, the rally stands.

Doubles: A team's score should always be an even number, or zero, when their starting server is serving or receiving from the right service court, and an odd number when serving or receiving from the left service court. The reverse is true for a team's non-starting server.

Singles: In singles, a server's score will always be even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10...) when serving from the right service court and odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9...) when serving from the left service court.[35]: A-15 

Non-volley zone

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No player may volley a ball while standing in the non-volley zone or touching any of the lines around the non-volley zone. A player may enter the non-volley zone to play a ball that has bounced and may stay there to play other balls that bounce,[35]: A-22  but the player must re-establish both feet outside the non-volley zone before playing a volley. The non-volley zone is the highlighted area and numbered lines shown in the "Service out" diagram. Unofficially, the non-volley zone is commonly referred to as "The Kitchen".

Rally and fault

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After the serve, a rally continues until one side commits a fault resulting in a dead ball.[48] Each team is responsible for making line calls on their side of the net. They may also ask an opponent for assistance; if the opponent saw the ball clearly and does then make a call, it is binding. If there is any doubt about whether the ball is out or in, the call should be made in favor of the opponent.[49]

Faults include:

  • either of the server's feet touches the baseline, the court, or the area outside the imaginary extensions of the centerline or sideline prior to striking the ball
  • not hitting the serve into the opponent's diagonally opposite service court
  • volleying the ball when returning a serve
  • volleying the ball when returning the first service return
  • not hitting the ball beyond the net
  • not hitting the ball before it bounces twice on one side of the net
  • hitting the ball so it lands out of bounds (outside the court lines)
  • stepping into the non-volley zone, or touching any of lines around the non-volley zone, in the act of volleying the ball
  • touching the net with any part of the body, clothing, paddle, or assistance device
  • crossing the plane of the net, if not in the process of striking the ball

Player ratings

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Pickleball player ratings are used to differentiate the skill levels of players. This allows tournament directors to group players of similar skills, thereby increasing the competitiveness of brackets and matches. The three most common methods for classifying a pickleball player’s skill level are: self-rating, Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR), and UTR-Pickleball (UTR-P).[50]

A self-rating is determined when a player evaluates their own playing abilities against a table that describes progressively more difficult pickleball skills. The table of skills generally ranges from 1 to 6 in .5 increments. Self-ratings are often used by players who only participate in social play or non-sanctioned leagues and tournaments. Certified pickleball instructors may assist players in determining their self-rating score.[51][52][53]

DUPR was developed by Steve Kuhn, owner and operator of the Dreamland family amusement center in Austin, Texas, and founder of Major league Pickleball. Originally called the Dreamland Universal Pickleball Rating, now the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating, DUPR scores range from 2 to 8 in .001 increments. DUPR includes a reliability rating that ranges from 1% to 100%. The reliability rating increases as more matches are played and recorded. A reliability rating over 60% is considered reliable.[54][55]

UTR-Pickleball was developed by UTR Sports in collaboration with the Association of Pickleball Players. UTR Sports developed the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) which was modified for use in pickleball. UTR-P scores range from 1 to 10 in .001 increments. UTR-P assigns a preliminary score, for individuals with a limited number of games, as well as a verified and unverified score. Verified scores are determined when enough match results are entered by verified tournament and league officials. Unverified scores result when only results from recreational or other non-sanctioned matches are reported. Prior to April 2024 the APP and USA Pickleball used the USA Pickleball Tournament Player Rating (UTPR) system to calculate player scores for USAP sanctioned tournaments. UTR-P scores are generally about one point higher than the retired UTPR scores.[56][57]

Professional pickleball

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See also: List of professional pickleball players
 
Ben Johns with his mixed doubles partner, Simone Jardim, after winning gold together.

The popularity of pickleball has spurred the growth of investors and sponsors. As a result, two pro pickleball tours were independently formed in 2019, the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP, now the Association of Pickleball Players), and the Pickleball Professionals Association (PPA). A professional pickleball league, Major League Pickleball (MLP), was formed in 2021,[58] and a senior professional league, the National Pickleball League of Champions Pros (NPL), was formed in 2022. In 2023 the PPA and MLP merged under one umbrella organization, the United Pickleball Association (UPA).[59]

Major League Pickleball, in partnership with the Pacific Pickleball League (PPL) of Australia, announced an expansion to Australia in September 2023. The PPL was rebranded as MLP Australia and held its inaugural event September 2023.[60]

In April 2024 the United Pickleball Association, in cooperation with Global Sports of India, announced an expansion of the PPL and MLP to India. The PPA Tour held an exhibition event in Mumbai, India, at the Monsoon Pickleball Championships in August 2024, and an official PPA Tour stop in India is planned for February 2025. With the establishment of MLP India, franchises are to be sold in time for the 2025/2026 season.[61]

Association of Pickleball Players

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The APP was formed by Ken Herrmann, who aligned his tour with USA Pickleball (USAP), the original governing body of pickleball in the United States. All games are sanctioned by USAP and must abide by USAP rules.[58] The 2022 APP Tour includes 32 tournaments in five countries and has attracted an average of 800 players in each tournament. Total prize money is expected to be $2 million.[62] Originally the APP was named the Association of Pickleball Professionals, but was changed to the Association of Pickleball Players in 2023 to reflect the organizations support of both amateur and professional players.[63]

United Pickleball Association

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Professional Pickleball Association: The PPA was formed by Connor Pardoe and based in Draper, Utah. Desiring independence to shape the tour to his liking, Pardoe did not align with USAP. Initially, the PPA required all players to sign a one–year exclusivity contract, preventing PPA players from participating in any non-PPA tours. In late 2021, Thomas Dundon purchased the PPA and extended the exclusivity contracts to 3 years. Pardoe remained CEO of the PPA Tour.[58] The 2022 PPA Tour is expected to include 20 tournaments with total prize money of $2.5 million.[64]
Major League Pickleball: The MLP was formed in 2021 by Steve Kuhn in Dripping Springs, Texas.[58] In its first year, the League consisted of 8 teams and included both APP and PPA players. The second year expanded to 12 teams, but the PPA no longer allowed their players to participate in the League. Each team consists of two men and two women. Team members are chosen by a dual snake draft designed to make teams as competitive as possible.[65] Three separate competitions are scheduled for 2022, and the winning team at each competition will win $25,000 for each team member. The winning team is also awarded the Pritchard Cup. The league will expand to 16 teams in 2023, with NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, tennis player Naomi Osaka,[66] and NBA players LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Kevin Love buying expansion teams.[67][68][69]

National Pickleball League

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The NPL is a professional pickleball league established in the United States whose members are over the age of 50. The league was established in 2022. As of 2024 the league had twelve teams with eight men and eight women on each team.[70]

Governing body

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See also: List of pickleball organizations § Governing bodies

As of July 2024 no pickleball organization has received recognition from the International Olympic Committee, [71] or any other international sports oversight body, as the official world-wide governing body for the sport of pickleball. However, there are several organizations vying to be the global governing body for the sport.

In 1984 USA Pickleball became the de facto governing body for all pickleball because it was the first and only organization to step into the role when it was founded as the United States Amateur Pickleball Association. It also published the first official rule book that same year. [22] Recognizing the growth of pickleball outside of the United States, in 2010 USA Pickleball helped establish the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP), now the International Pickleball Federation (IPF), to serve as a world-wide governing body. USA Pickleball would continue as the national governing body for pickleball in the United States. [72]

In 2018 a second international governing body, the World Pickleball Federation (WPF) was established challenging the IPF. [58] In 2022, USA Pickleball, and several other member nations, withdrew from the IPF, and in 2023 they established a third international governing body, the Global Pickleball federation (GPF).[73] Also in 2023 a fourth organization, the Pickleball International Committee (PIC), was established claiming to be the global governing body for pickleball.

Meanwhile, professional pickleball has continued to grow and attract more money. In 2023 the PPA and MLP merged under one umbrella organization, the United Pickleball Association (UPA), and in May 2024 the UPA announced it would replace USA Pickleball with its own governing body for the sport called the UPA of America (UPA-A).[74] With the expansion of the UPA to Australia, India, and Canada, the UPA has become a transnational organization, resulting in the UPA-A also becoming an international governing body.[75]

Olympic recognition

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All of the organizations claiming to be the global governing body of pickleball are pursuing recognition by the International Olympic Committee and possible inclusion at the Olympics as a demonstration sport. A 2022 article by Sports Illustrated concluded the game would not likely be seen at the Olympics before 2032.[58]

Pickleball was accepted as a demonstration sport at the July 2022 Maccabiah Games, considered the third largest sporting event in the world. This marked the first time pickleball appeared at an event sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee.[76]

The 2023 African Games, also sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, included Pickleball as a demonstration sport. The event was held March 11-15th at the University of Ghana campus in Accra. The Confederation of African Pickleball and the Global Pickleball Federation are exploring the possibility of holding a pickleball tournament at the 2027 African Games in Egypt.[77]

Rule variations

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As the game is relatively new, rule modifications are frequently being made. In 2021, a rule change was made for a "net serve" so that a serve that touches the top of the net and lands in the proper service court is no longer replayed.[78] The previous rule on a "let serve" was borrowed from tennis, where a "let" call is always replayed.

Mini-singles

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USA Pickleball first included rules for mini-singles in the 2024 Official Rulebook. Mini-singles, sometimes called “skinny singles”, follow basically the same rules as regular singles, except only half of each player’s court is considered “in play” during each rally. The half of the court that is in play is determined by each player’s score. If a player’s score is zero or even, then the right side of their court is in play. If their score is odd, then the left side of their court is in play. The other half of their court, the half that is not in play, is out of bounds. A player incurs a fault if that player hits the ball onto the other player’s side of the court that is not in play.[33]

An additional line should be drawn that extends the center line on both sides of the net through the non-volley zone. This line divides the non-volley zone in two, thereby establishing which side of the non-volley zone is in play, and which is out of bounds.[33]

Para pickleball

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Para pickleball, sometimes called adaptive pickleball or wheelchair pickleball,[79] was officially recognized as a competitive branch of pickleball by USA Pickleball in 2016. Rules for those in wheelchairs are similar to the standard rules with minor modifications. A player's wheelchair is considered part of the player's body, and all rules that apply to the body also apply to the player's wheelchair. A pickleball player in a wheelchair is allowed two bounces instead of one. When a player in a wheelchair is serving the ball, they must be in a stationary position. They are then allowed one push before striking the ball for service. When the player strikes the ball, the wheels of the wheelchair must not touch any baseline, sideline, center line, or extended center or sideline. When a game involves both wheelchair and standing players, each player must abide by their respective rules. Standing players will adhere to the standing pickleball rules, and the wheelchair players will adhere to the wheelchair pickleball rules.[33]

Professional tour rules

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APP Tour games are sanctioned by USA Pickleball and follow all rules established by USA Pickleball. The PPA Tour is not sanctioned and has chosen not to adopt some recent rule changes for professional and senior professional matches. Non-professional PPA Tour matches will continue to follow all rules in the USAP rulebook. The specific rules that the PPA deviates from for professional matches are: the drop serve, the paddle swipe or chainsaw serve, and let serves.[80]

The PPA has not instituted the drop serve and does not permit them in professional PPA matches. New USAP rules allow a player to touch the ball with only the hand releasing the ball, thereby making the chainsaw serve illegal in APP games. The PPA continues to permit the chainsaw serve in professional PPA matches. Let serves that hit the net but land in the correct service area are considered valid serves by USAP rules, but such serves must be replayed in PPA professional matches. If a second let serve occurs when the serve is replayed, it is a fault for PPA servers.[81]

MLP team format

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Major League Pickleball uses a four-member team format, each team consisting of two men and two women. A match between teams is determined by the best of four games: one game of men's doubles, one game of women's doubles and two games of mixed doubles. If tied after four games, a dreambreaker singles game is played where after every four rallys the players on each team are rotated. All games are played using rally scoring where the team that wins the rally scores a point and earns a side out, regardless of who is serving. A team must win by two points and must score the game-winning point on their serve. If a team reaches game point, their score will remain frozen until they win a rally on their serve, or they lose their game-point advantage. The other teams score does not remain frozen. The other team can continue earning points when they win a rally on the other team's serve. Doubles games are played to 25, and dreambreaker games are played to 21.[82]

Controversy

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Noise level

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Video of a pickleball game

When the hard pickleball paddle strikes the hard ball, it produces a sharp popping sound. The constant sound during play has generated conflict between pickleball court owners and nearby property owners.[83][84] The noise, combined with the rapid rise in pickleball's popularity, has produced an intense backlash against the sport in communities across the United States.[85]

In September 2020, one park in the Portland metropolitan area had to institute a ban on pickleball, despite having just installed new pickleball courts five months earlier. Residents nearest to the pickleball courts said they could not hold conversations inside their homes due to the noise from the pickleball courts. Despite the ban, people still used the pickleball courts the following year. In June 2021, at a West Linn City Council meeting, one resident said the noise resulted in family gatherings being "... wrought with discord and physically debilitating stress." Some described the noise as "trauma-inducing".[86] Similar noise issues were raised in 2023 by residents of an apartment building adjacent to a pickleball court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.[87]

Court replacement

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Aerial view of six pickleball courts in The Villages, Florida in 2016, with two tennis courts in the background

The construction of pickleball courts in public spaces has been a source of controversy, especially when the new court replaces existing tennis or basketball courts.[88][89] The repurposing of basketball courts for pickleball is often decried as an example of gentrification as while basketball is popular amongst people of color and the working class, the demographics of pickleball players tend to be affluent and white.[90] During a press conference at the 2024 Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the number two seeded men's singles player, Novak Djokovic, was quoted as saying:

Tennis is the king or queen of all the racket sports, that's true. But on a club level, tennis is endangered, and if we don't do something about it globally and collectively, they're gonna convert all the tennis clubs into padel and pickleball because it's just more economical. You can build three padel courts inside one tennis court. If you do the simple math, it's just much more financially viable for an owner of the club to have those courts.[91]

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World records

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There are ten published Guinness World Records for the sport of pickleball,[92] the most recent of which is the longest pickleball volley rally, consisting of 10,532 consecutive shots, lasting 2 hours and 44 seconds set by Angelo and Ettore Rossetti on October 10, 2022.[93] One of the previous documented Pickleball endurance record was in 2011 and 2012 by Justin Lawrence and Jeffrey Baker of New Port Richey, Florida. It was performed at the New Port Richey Recreation & Aquatic Center, in Pasco County, Florida. Both were employees of the rec center and wanted to find a way to grow the sport locally. Lawrence is a multi-sport athlete (football placekicker and soccer goalkeeper) who was focusing on endurance and OCR events at the time, with no real racquet sport experience. Baker is also a multi-sport athlete with some ping-pong and tennis experience. Both years the duo played for over 24-hours consecutively. Due to paperwork and processing errors, Guinness World Records did not recognize the record, so World Record Academy stepped in and verified the record along with Pasco County giving them an official resolution.[94][95][96]

See also

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References

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Bibliography

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  • Lucore, Jennifer; Youngren, Beverly (2018). History of pickleball: more than 50 years of fun! (First ed.). Oceanside, CA: Two Picklers Press. ISBN 978-1-7320705-0-9.
  • Movsessian, Richard; Baker, Joe (2018). How to play pickleball: the complete guide from A to Z : illustrated stroke techniques and winning strategies. Las Vegas, Nevada. ISBN 978-1-7239-9308-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Pickleball Courts : Construction & Maintenance Manual 2020 (Second ed.). Forest Hill, MD: American Sports Builders Association. 2017. ISBN 978-0-9816862-3-3.
  • "USA Pickleball 2022 Rulebook" (PDF). USA Pickleball. 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  • "Current USA Pickleball Rulebook" (PDF). USA Pickleball. June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
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