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Society is always in constant search of having new activities, so new sports appear almost every day. But few have an impact on popularity and marketing to stay viral and end up being practiced en masse. An example of this is pickleball, a mixture of tennis, badminton and volleyball, which is all the rage in the United States.to the point that many celebrities have invested fortunes.
Like his cousins he has a paddle and a net. The racket, which has the dimensions of a paddle tennis racket and is made of wood like a table tennis racket, is used to hit a perforated plastic ball. This, as in badminton, flies little and does not take great speed: thus it allows mixed doubles to be played, for example (there are also individual matches). The net has a height similar to that of tennis (91.5 centimeters) and the dimensions of the court are 6.10 by 13.41 meters, which brings them closer to badminton.
Although this sport was created in the sixties, it has been in recent years that it has grown exponentially and already has all the seasonings of the big leagues. Major League Pickleball has sponsors, professional teams, competition circuits, exclusive merchandise sales, and television deals.. In addition to the support of private investments from renowned figures. One of them is none other than LeBron James.
The Lakers forward decided to invest with LRMR Ventures, his family office, and bought a franchise in the Major League Pickleball. But the King was not alone, since among the investors are Tom Brady, Draymond Green, Kevin Love and Kevin Durant, who declared that he is a fan of discipline. “These investments are not only good for the MLP; They come at a defining moment for pickleball in general,” said Steve Kuhn, the founder of the competition.
“When I started playing pickleball, I immediately connected with the community of the sport and its ability to be fun and competitive. Seeing the growth of the sport in communities around the world is truly exciting.and we look forward to pooling our experience to try to build a team,” LeBron James said.
So things, the MLP will grow from 12 to 16 teams next year and will have prizes of five million dollarswhich quintuples the bag of this 2022. The United States seeks to reach 40 million players in 2030 (currently around 5 million) and for that it is important to make the sport go viral.
Pickleball Rules (Summary)
- A set is normally played to eleven points and one team must win by two points difference.
- The serve must be hit underhand and each team must play their first shot after it has bounced.
- After the ball has bounced once on each side, then both teams may volley the ball or play it without a bounce (double bounce rule).
- Volleying is not allowed inside the non-volley zone (when volleying the ball, the player cannot step on the line.)
- It is considered a foul if, after the impulse to hit the ball, the player touches the non-volley zone.
- A team will score points only when serving.
- points are lost
- by not returning the ball within the limits of the opponent’s court before the second bounce,
- enter the non-volley zone and volley the ball,
- by violating the double pot rule.
- The hand is considered an extension of the paddle.
- The player loses the point if the ball hits any other part of his body or clothing.
- At the start of the serve, both feet must be behind the service line.
- The serve is done diagonally and must pass the non-volley zone.
- Only one service attempt is allowed, except in the case of a let (the ball touches the net on service and lands in the service box).
- At the start of each new set, only one player in the first service team is allowed to serve and ruff before delivering the ball to the opponents.
- When the serving team wins a point, the server moves to the other side of the court from the serving team.
