You may not have heard of pickleball, but those who play it say you only need an hour to master it.
It’s all about sport What is most popular in the United States? in recent years, mainly since many people were looking for new options for fun in the pandemic.
According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the number of players in the North American country grew 21% in 2020 and the following year 14%.
Today almost 5 million players enjoy pickleball which, although it was invented almost 60 years agohad remained in the shadows of disciplines such as tennis.
“It’s growing like crazy, in other parts of the world as well,” Stu Upson, chief executive of USA Pickleball, which runs the sport nationally in the US, tells the BBC.
“There are 37 countries that are part of the International Pickleball Federation,” which is more than double the number in previous years.
What is it about?
Pickleball is often described as a mix of tennis and ping-pong.
It can be played as individually or in pairseither indoors or outdoors, with paddles, a ball and a court similar to that of tennis, although smaller in size (13.41m x 6.10m).
The objective, like other racket sports, is to pass the ball over the net and make it difficult for the opponent to not be able to return it.
It has its more specific rules in terms of serving and scoring, but after two sets (or three if there is a tie), the winner will be the one with a difference in their favor of two points.
Fans of the game say it’s addictive, partly because it’s easy to playbut also because the challenge rises as skills improve.
“Unlike tennis or golf, where you need to take lessons just to have the bare minimum fit, you can walk into a pickleball court and in about an hour it will leaveyes to be the baddestUpson says.
But there are also those who highlight the fact that it is a sport that facilitates social coexistence.
The American Michelle Salem suffered the loss of her partner recently: “We always did sports. I missed him a lot and I felt quite alone, because my friends had a partner,” she tells BBC Mundo.
“In that time, pickleball helped me with my mental health and my physical health.”
As the matches last about 20 minutes, the rotation with other opponents leads the players to meet a lot of people in the same space.
“If you play tennis, you only go with your partner or a small group. But in pickelball you can go alone and be accompanied by everyoneSalem enthuses.
“It’s very social and I think that’s the number one reason why people have been interested in this sport. In these times, a lot of people don’t live together. And a lot of people are alone. We’re on the phone, but there’s not as much contact personal with people”.
A game for boredom
Pickleball is nothing new: it’s been around since 1965.
It was invented by US Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friends Bill Bell and Barney McCallum during a summer vacation on Bainbridge Island, a small place in the state of Washington, near the city of Seattle.
It arose in an attempt to keep your kids entertained in boring timesI lie. A decade later, the first official pickleball tournament was held.
“The origin of the name of the game is very interesting, especially since pickles are not used (picklesin English),” says USA Pickleball.
One of the stories of how the name came about is the one given by Barney McCallum, who claimed that the game has named after the Pritchards’ dog, Pickleswho chased the ball and ran away with it.
Despite the fact that it has been practiced since then, the game’s real popularity boost came in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.
According to the numbers reported by SFIA, it has been during these years, when people were looking to do activities safely (outdoors or remotely), that their great success occurred.
The taste for this sport has grown so much in the US that there are already at least three renowned national championships.
A sport for older people?
The statistics collected by SFIA also show that pickleball has found its largest audience -casual and recurring- among middle-aged adults (50%).
The average of those who practice it casually is 34.3 years, while the most recurring players have an average of 47.9 years.
“I didn’t like running and I thought that beach tennis was less like running, but no, it’s harder. On the other hand, pickleball is much easier, much more. You don’t have to run as much and it’s very good for my age “, says Salem, who is 63 years old.
“It is very good to exercise and for the brain, mental agility. For people over 50 there has to be some activity to improve the body or maintain it, that does not fail.”
But USA Pickleball’s Upson says young people are turning to the sport and are more likely to become professional players.
Although that has helped increase the popularity of the game, it has also created a challenge for the bigger players.
“Young, very athletic people don’t want to play with people who aren’t super good.. Then there is a problem on the courts to share them”, explains Salem.
“For me, pickleball is a small universe. You meet people there who are kind and inclusive, but you also see who isn’t. You can tell instantly, and that’s very interesting,” he adds.
With the success of the game, in the US they are looking for a utopian goal: make it an olympic sport.
“But to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee, you need at least 70 countries with (pickleball) federations,” Upson explains.
Although he acknowledges that there is “a long way to go” to see him in those scenarios, the success of the game in recent years makes them keep the dream of achieving it.
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