It has a professional league, celebrity investors and a tasty-sounding name. Pickleball, one of the United States’ fastest-growing sports, has elevated its cachet this fall with the news that seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and four-time NBA champion LeBron James have bought teams in Major League Pickleball, the sport’s burgeoning professional league.
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NBA stars Draymond Green and Kevin Love are among James’ ownership group, while four-time Grand Slam singles champion Kim Clijsters is a team co-owner with Brady.
But what exactly is pickleball? What are the rules? And why is it having such a moment? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is pickleball?
Pickleball is a paddle sport played on an indoor or outdoor court between two players (for singles) or four players (for doubles) in which a small, polymer ball is volleyed over a 34-inch net with the aim of scoring points. It combines elements of tennis, badminton and Ping-Pong, according to USA Pickleball. Game skill relies primarily on paddle/ball control and quick reflexes rather than a player’s sheer size and speed, opening the sport to a range of ages and skill levels.
How do you play pickleball? What are the rules?
Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court, meaning 44 feet long and 20 feet wide, inclusive of lines. The court contains a non-volley zone or “kitchen” (we’ll get to this) that measures 7 feet from the net on each side. Players generally avoid standing in the kitchen, as the ball cannot be volleyed by a player in that area.
An underhand or drop serve going cross-court is used to initiate play, and there’s a two-bounce rule, meaning the first two shots of a rally must bounce (i.e., the serve and first return). After that, it’s fire away! The ball can be played off a single bounce or straight out of the air, so players typically step up to the edge of the kitchen to defend their side of the court.
What Is Pickleball? from USA Pickleball on Vimeo.
The rally continues until someone makes a fault, which happens when there’s a double bounce, the ball is hit out of bounds or it goes into the net. Shots on the line are considered “in.” Also, the serve must be in the cross-court service box beyond the kitchen line.
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Speaking of the kitchen (or the non-volley zone, remember?), players are not allowed to hit the ball out of the air while standing in the kitchen, nor can their momentum carry them into the kitchen when hitting a volley. Reaching into the kitchen to play a ball in the air without stepping into the kitchen is permitted, and the ball can still be played after it bounces in that zone. Technically, a player can also stand in the kitchen as long as they’re not playing the ball, but as a general rule of thumb, stay out of the kitchen.
How does scoring work?
Most pickleball games are played to 11 points with a win-by-two-points rule. But there’s a catch in scoring: Only the serving team is able to score points. Once the serving team wins a rally, they get the point, and players on the same team (for doubles) flip sides, so the same server serves cross-court to the opposite side. If the serving team loses the rally, everyone stays put and the serve goes to the next player in the rotation. In doubles pickleball, the first-serving team has only one service turn. After the first side out, each team has two service turns. A further breakdown of the rules can be found in the USA Pickleball Rulebook.
Why is it called pickleball?
The commonly accepted naming origin story is that Joan Pritchard, the wife of the game’s developer Joel Pritchard, suggested the name “pickle ball” in reference to the thrown-together, non-starting rowers in the “pickle boat” of crew races. Others have claimed that it was named after the Pritchard’s family dog, Pickles, but Pickleball Magazine investigated the tale last year and determined that Pickles the dog was born after the first pickleball game was played and named in 1965.
Why is pickleball so popular now?
The answers vary, but The New York Times suggests that the sport’s appeal to a range of ages and experience levels, combined with the volume of those searching for new pastimes and a good workout during the pandemic, are among the reasons pickleball has seen recent growth. Additionally, the rise of investors, especially celebrity investors in Major League Pickleball, such as former NFL quarterback Drew Brees, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, former tennis player James Blake, as well as James, Green and Love from the NBA, have elevated the status of pickleball.
“When I started playing pickleball, I immediately connected with the sport’s community and its capacity to be both fun and competitive,” Maverick Carter, James’ business partner, told CNBC. “To see the sport growing in communities all over is really exciting, and we’re looking forward to bringing our expertise together to try and build a championship team.”
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Where to play pickleball
Per USA Pickleball, every state in the U.S. and all provinces in Canada have pickleball venues. Courts can be found at community recreation centers, parks, senior residence communities, schools, private clubs and other locations. There were more than 9,500 known places to play at the end of last year, according to USA Pickleball, which compiles a list of courts at places2play.org.
When was the pickleball pro league formed?
Major League Pickleball launched in 2021, but there’s another professional pickleball tour: the Professional Pickleball Association, which was founded in 2017, according to its LinkedIn profile.
(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)