“We have around a hundred members in Port-d’Envaux and offer four to five training sessions per week. We discovered this sport in Florida where we lived for a while. We liked it to the point of abandoning tennis to devote ourselves fully to pickleball,” emphasizes Max Vigne.
“Fun, friendly and social”
Created in the United States in the 1960s, pickleball was established in France around ten years ago. Originally under the aegis of the French Badminton Federation, this sport has, since January 1, 2026, been affiliated with the French Tennis Federation. Pickleball is a sport mixing several disciplines, tennis, padel, badminton, table tennis. It is played on a badminton court, with a full racket, a light ball similar in size to a tennis ball, made of perforated plastic. The net is similar to that of tennis although lower.
“We can play indoors or outdoors if the weather permits, generally doubles but also singles to provide more difficulty. It is a fun, friendly and social sport accessible to all ages and all levels. Each part lasts approximately fifteen to twenty minutes. Its specific rules make it a sport for which strategy can supplant power or speed. It is an activity that provides cardiovascular training, improves endurance, coordination, reflexes and balance, which makes it a sport appreciated by seniors,” explains Catherine Vigne.
Pickleball can be found every Monday evening from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Saint-Georges-des-Coteaux gymnasium.
