Racket sports are definitely in fashion. Pickleball, born in the United States 60 years ago, is gaining more and more followers. Focus on this game that looks a bit like padel.

The pickleball was invented in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, an American politician, because it couldn't find a steering wheel to play. He then improvised a game on a badminton court, with a dropped net, wooden racquets, and a plastic baseball.

Since then, the sport has evolved, got structured and it now has more than 3 million followers in the United States. It is played on a badminton court, two or four, with a plastic ball with holes, and rackets that look a little like the first palas of padel.

In France, the Pickleball France Federation is in charge of the development of this sport. The game counts in 11 point, like table tennis. The rules are quite subtle: we spoon and in flight (unlike the padel where we must let the ball bounce), and following the service, each team must hit a ball from the baseline before being able to volley. Then the volleys are authorized, but not on all the ground: it is no volleyball in the area closest to the net. In summary, we can say that it is a game that requires great flying skills, and it may very well be complementary to padel.

As the padel, Pickleball is one of the most popular sports today, it has experienced a more than 35% more participants in the United States on the year 2018, where it is much more popular than the padel. Much less known in Europe where it is still in its development phase, it could well be that pickleball will experience a growth similar to that of padel.

For you to get an idea, here is a video of pickleball played at a high level, a spectacular sport, which attracts spectators!

Video credit: Pickleball Channel

 

Xan is a fan of padel. But also rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel, he unearths atypical posts or deals with topical subjects. It also gives you some tips to develop your physique for the padel. Clearly, he imposes his offensive style as on the field of padel !