Literally translates to “pickled ball” and is becoming popular in the United States: it is the pickleball, a sport that, a bit like padel, is less demanding than tennis both technically and physically, but guarantees great fun.
What is pickleball
Pickleball is played on courts that measure one third of the size of tennis courts. This applies to the double but also to the singular. Usually you get up to the score of 11, but sometimes there are those who fix the victory odds at 15 or 21. As in other sports, to achieve success you have to detach the opponent (or opponents) by two points.
The ball exchange is foreseen and it is possible to organize the matches in several sets. In the first exchanges after each serve it is allowed to hit the ball only after having made it bounce in one’s own field, then it can be caught on the fly, but only if the feet of the impactor are not in the so-called kitchen, that is the most part of the field. close to the network.
The racket that is used to play pickleball is pentagonal in shape, while the ball is very light and has numerous holes, all so that it does not reach great speeds. Pickleball, therefore, is a sport that favors intelligence, position, timing rather than power. The services must be done diagonally and the net is fixed from a height of just under one meter (90 centimeters).
The pickleball phenomenon in the United States
Pickleball was born in the United States, when in the summer of 1965 two neighbors with their respective children wanted to spend time playing badminton but found themselves in fact inventing a new sport. As a net, they used a badminton net, as rackets they used some wooden rackets, perhaps ping pong, and as a ball they took a wiffleball, a sport similar to baseball, but played with plastic balls and holes. Then, over the next few days, they perfected the rules starting from that of badminton.
It is not known why they gave this new sport the name “pickleball”. According to the USA Pickleball reconstructions, the choice was made in reference to the “pickle boat”, a term used in university rowing to define crews made up of rowers who had not been chosen by the other teams, the discarded in summary. As if to say that pickleball was born with the “waste” of other sports.
The turning point
From the year of birth onwards, pickleball has grown steadily, but the turning point was 2020. According to data collected by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, in fact, “In the first year of the pandemic in the United States, over four million people played it, 21 percent more than in 2019; about one-fifth of those estimated to have played tennis and about one-tenth of those who play golf, and more than 1 percent of Americans over 6 years of age. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, the most avid pickleball players continue to be over 65, but practitioners between 8 and 34 are also growing, which has lowered the average age of all participants, now by a little. under 40 “.
In the United States, the increase in the number of practitioners has been accompanied by several attempts to make the sport grow economically. In this regard, there are those who say that pickleball may soon become an Olympic discipline, also taking advantage of the fact that the 2028 Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. Pickleball is also expanding in Italy, just think that in 2018 theItalian Pickleball Association. What are you waiting to try?
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