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Pickleball is a fun recreational sport that is gaining popularity around the world. It is a non-contact racket sport similar to Badminton and Tennis, and has elements of Table Tennis. The sport was created in the USA in the 1960s.

The court where pickleball is played is similar to the size of a badminton court, 44 x 20 feet. A low net divides the court into two halves like in tennis. Either side of the net is a non-volley area, called the kitchen. Pickleball players use solid paddles, which are made of wood or composite materials, to hit a ball over the net. The plastic ball is hollow and lightweight, similar to that used for Wiffle Ball.

Individuals (singles) or teams of two (doubles) can play. The play starts with a serve from behind the baseline, which must be hit with an underhand stroke, into the service court diagonally opposite. Unique to pickleball is the double bounce rule, which says that the ball must bounce once on each side of the net before either team may volley the ball.

Points are scored when the opposing player/s make faults, which include failure to return the ball, hitting the ball out of bounds, hitting the ball into the net, and stepping into the non-volley zone to hit the ball.

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Similar Sports

• Tennis (Lawn) — players use a racket to hit a ball over a net.
• Table Tennis — a racket sport played with small paddles and a lightweight ball on a rectangular table with a net in the middle.
• Badminton — an indoor game with rackets in which a shuttlecock is hit back and forth across a net.
• Pitton — a net and racket-based sport played with a hard pickleball paddle and a badminton shuttlecock.
• Paddle Tennis — a variation of tennis on a smaller court, lower net, using a solid paddle and ball.

Related Pages

• How to get started in pickleball
• How is Pickleball different from Tennis?
• More about Pickleball
• Compare the fitness components of pickleball and tennis
• About racket sports
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports