Chapter 1 - Background Knowledge
Last updated
Last updated
Pickleball, as an emerging sport born in the 1960s, has swept North America and attracted more and more interests among people worldwide.
Pickleball combines the skills of tennis, badminton, table tennis and other sports. It is fun to play, easy to learn, and moderate in intensity, and it is not easy to be injured. It can be described as suitable for all ages. Anyone in their 70s or 80s, or children in their teens, can participate.
In the summer of 1965, the pickleball was invented by Congressman Joel Pritchard (1925 ~ 1997) and his friends Bill Bell (1923 ~ 2006) and Barney McCallum (1926 ~ 2019) while vacationing on Bainbridge Island in Seattle, USA.
The inventors of the Pickleball are keen on playing badminton and tennis, but due to the high entry threshold, their families cannot enjoy sports with them together. So they want to create a sport for all ages. On a summer Saturday, Joel Pritchard and his friend Bill Bell returned home from a round of golf to find that their family had nothing to do. There was an abandoned badminton court in the community, but they didn't have all the badminton equipment, so they improvised and hit a plastic ball with a hole in it with a table tennis racket. At first they played with a badminton net, but soon found that the net was lowered and played as a tennis ball. The plastic ball bounced very well on the asphalt. Later, Barney McCallum was also invited to join the game. The three refer to the badminton game at that time, and considering the convenience of family members who have no sports foundation to participate together, they formulated the game rules of pickleball.
Once the sport was launched, it was loved by the locals and spread quickly. Pickleball got its name from the local rowing games, where a "Pickle Boat" is a crew of leftover rowers that no one wanted and is often the last boat in the race.
Till the year 1990, all 50 states in USA have pickleball players.
In 2010, the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) was officially established, dedicated to promoting the sport of pickleball around the world. In 2018, the World Pickleball Federation (WPF) was also officially established with a similar hope of advancing the development of pickleball. In October 2023, the Olympic Committee announced the acceptance of nine new sports for the 2028 Olympics, which did not include pickleball. In November, the Global Pickleball Federation (GPF) was formed as a unified international pickleball organization to promote the global development of pickleball and to ensure that pickleball becomes an official event at the 2032 Olympic Games.
To commemorate the invention of the pickleball, the World Pickleball Championship since 2017 named its trophy the "Bainbridge Cup". It has been held successively in Spain, Italy, Germany, the United States, India and other countries.
A pickleball ball is a hard plastic ball, slightly larger than a tennis ball, and is usually colored like yellow or orange. There are 26 to 40 circular holes with a diameter of around 1 cm on the spherical surface (there are differences between indoor and outdoor balls, the softer and lighter indoor ball has 26 holes, the hole diameter is larger and fly more slowly). The rotation of the ball is not too violent, and at the same time the elasticity is not great, making it fly relatively slowly in the air.
The paddle of the Pickleball is like a large table tennis paddle without rubber, the sum of whose length and width cannot exceed 24 inches, where the length cannot exceed 17 inches. Usually the paddle has a length of 15.5 ~ 17 inches (39.37 ~ 43.18 cm) and a width of 7 ~ 8.25 inches (17.78 ~ 20.96 cm), and the handler length is 4~5.5 inches. At first, the rackets were mostly made of wood, but later they were also made of new materials such as glass fiber and carbon fiber. The racket is not very elastic and has a relatively smooth surface. Pickleball is very easy to play, but it takes a certain amount of time and energy to learn skills, improve physical fitness and master appropriate strategies to play well.
The pickleball field measures 44x20 feet and the net is 34 inches high in the middle and 36 inches high on the side. At least 10 feet (approximately 3 meters) of distance should remain after the baseline, and at least 7 feet of distance should be remained from the sideline. The line width is 2 inches. For indoor courts, there must be at least 20 feet (approximately 6.1 meters) height from the ceiling.
The ground area within 7 feet (approximately 2.13 meters) on both sides of the net is called the "Non-Volley Zone (NVZ)" or "Kitchen (Kitchen)". Before, during and after the volley, no part of the player's body (including the paddle and accessories) may touch the Non-Volley Zone.
A pickleball court is the same size as a badminton court. Therefore, it is very convenient to raise the net to play badminton and lower it to play pickleball in the same field.
Pickleball scoring is similar to the old rules in badminton, and only the serving team can score points if they win their round.
Taking doubles as an example, each game has 11 points, and each player on the serving side has one chance to serve (In total two chances for each side). After serving, the opponent receives the serve and returns, and the serving party hits the ball to the opposite side. From the fourth shot, players can either hit groundstroke or volley the ball that has not landed. If the serving team scores in this round, then switch sides with teammates and continue serving, otherwise the teammate will continue to serve. Only serving team can score points if they win the round, and the receiving team will not get points even win.
Pickleball combines elements of badminton, table tennis and tennis and is a comprehensive sport. In a common doubles match, four players are divided into two teams, and because the court is relatively small, the requirements for running are not high. Sometimes people jokingly refer to Pickleball as seniors' tennis. But in fact, the intensity of professional games is often more than tennis, requiring superb skills and strategies.
Pickleball is quick to start, easy to control, moderate to run (not as high as tennis and badminton for jumping and running), etc. The reasons include: a) the court of pickleball is not large (smaller than tennis court); b) the weight of pickleball is relatively light (only more than 20 grams) and the ball does not bounce a lot; c) the paddle is light in weight and has a large hitting area. Therefore, pickleballs can be played in singles or doubles, indoor and outdoor venues, and are loved by people of different ages.
The overall amount of activity in pickleball is moderate, but it has rich skills. In addition to drive, smash, drop, and slices, there are also volleys and lobs. The competition between the two sides is not only about strength or speed, but also about the control of the ball (which is often more important). In doubles, teamwork is especially critical. In pickleball games, one rally can last to tens of hits, there are not only the extremely fast attack like a storm, but also the softness with strength like Tai Chi, which is quite entertaining.
According to a public report from Sports & Fitness Industry Association in 2023, there are nearly 9 million pickleball players in the United States (In comparison, tennis players are less than 20 million, badminton players are less than 1.5 million, and ping pong players are less than 1 million), and the number is growing at a rate of more than 20% per year. It is predicted that there will be around 40 million players in the year 2030. The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Association of Pickleball Players (APP) hold 20 and 30 tournaments every year. The players in professional tournaments are usually with age between 14 years and 35 years.
In addition to North America, the pickleball has also become very popular in Europe. Asian regions including China, Japan, India, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, have also begun to popularize and hold big tournaments. As of the end of 2022, over 60 countries around the world have joined the International Federation of Pickleball, hosting 12 international competitions. Pickleball is a performance sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It is believed that in the near future, the Pickleball will become an official event in the Olympic Games and other international events.
In addition, as a sport suitable for all ages, pickleball has been increasingly valued by educational institutions, and more and more schools have set it up as a physical education course, with more than 500 schools in New York State alone. related courses. In other countries, more and more schools have set it as a curriculum. Pickleball helps to improve students' physical fitness, coordination and responsiveness. At the same time, the sense of teamwork and competition of pickleball can also cultivate students' social skills and team spirit.
