What is pickleball and how do you play it? Rules and regulations of the game

Pickleball has been on the rise lately and is considered one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States of America and Canada. It is a great way of getting in some exercise, and easy enough for everybody to play it. Some people do not really know what pickleball is and thus might confuse it with tennis or badminton.

It has simple rules and regulations that are easy for beginners to learn. However, due to its popularity in the past decades, recreational, and sports departments are adding it to their programmes. Dig in to find more details about pickleball, its rules and regulations, and how it is played.

What is Pickleball?

It is a sport that combines elements of tennis, ping-pong, and badminton. It is practiced with a paddle and a plastic ball with holes over a tennis-type net and a badminton-size court. The sport can be played in doubles or singles format and can be enjoyed by players of all ages and skills.

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How to play pickleball

It is played as doubles or a singles game on a court of the same size in both scenarios. Both singles and doubles are identical but differ slightly when it comes to serving, rules, and scoring.

The game starts when a player serves the ball underhand over the net and into the opponent’s service court. In doing so, the ball is hit back and forth until one player misses.

The points are only scored by the serving team, and the first side scoring 11 points and leading by at least 2 points, wins. If both sides tie, the game continues until one side wins by 2 additional points.

In the court, there is a non-volley zone called the kitchen, located 7 feet from the net on both sides, where volleying is prohibited.

The normal game format is to play three sets of matches, but depending on the venue, there are other variations like the round robins or challenge courts. In simple terms, any kind of game format can be practiced according to the preference of the athletes.

What does pickleball consist of?

The sport is a combination of ping-pong, badminton, and tennis. In the United States of America and Canada, it is mostly practiced in parks, correctional facilities, schools, camps, and recreational centres among others.

What is pickleball named after?

According to various online sources, there are two theories that brought about the name of the sport. In the first theory, Joel Pritchard’s wife, Joan, named the game because it reminded her of the motley crew of rowers who competed in pickle boat races. The other theory claims that they named the game after Pritchard’s dog, Pickles.

What is a pickleball court?

It is a field the same size as a double badminton court, measuring 20 by 44 feet. The court is used to play both singles and doubles and has a net height of 36 inches on the sidelines and 34 inches in the middle.

Similar to a tennis court, it is also striped with right and left service courts with a non-volley zone in front of the net.

What is a pickleball made of?

The ball has a diameter of 2.8 to 2.9 inches and is made up of hard plastic; Low-Density Polyethylene, High-Density Polyethylene, and PVC.

What is pickleball stacking?

It is a tactic used in double plays where both players on a team are lined up on the same side of the court in order to keep one player on a particular side before a serve or return. After the ball is hit, each player moves to their sides, thus creating a formation that improves mobility and control.

Rules and regulations of pickleball

Like any other sport, it also has rules and regulations that govern its smooth running. It can be played either as singles or doubles, and the rules for both are the same.

What is the most common injury in pickleball?

Players in this sport are often susceptible to knees and lower back injuries. The former is mainly a result of falling down and hitting the ground while bending to reach for the ball. Whilst for lower back injuries, these are often due to intense bending and straining.

What happens if the ball hits a player in pickleball?

A fault is given against a player if they are hit by the ball. The position where the player is standing does not matter in this case as long as the ball hits them before landing.

When was pickleball first played?

It was invented and first played in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, Washington DC by three dads. The dads, Bill Bell, Joel Pritchard, and Barney McCallum, came up with a game for their kids to play that summer.

Where is pickleball most popular in the world?

It is most popular in Naples, Florida. The city is home to a community of athletes and has claimed the Pickleball Capital of the World title, hosting the annual Minto US Open Championship in the Naples Centre containing sixty courts.

Pickleball has over 4.8 million players in the United States of America as of February 2023 according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. Although most people in other nations might still have questions about what pickleball is, and how it is played, the United States and Canada have already added it to their programmes.

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