New Delhi: Pickleball, the sport in trend, is a game that combines the elements and skills involved in badminton, tennis and table tennis. However, the game is not as physically tiring as any of the three sports mentioned. In India, the game saw a rising trend in the past year as the number of players rose after the lockdown was lifted.
About the game
The sport is played with a paddle and a ball, with a net on the court. The court has a size similar to that of a badminton court. The size of the paddle is roughly between a TT and badminton racket. The ball used in the game is roughly the size of a tennis ball but is made of plastic with holes, to counter the windy conditions.
The game is played both as an indoor and outdoor sport. For the sport played outdoors, most badminton courts are open to hosting the space for pickleball as well.
Rules
Service: The serving team has to serve the ball cross-court to the returning team. The serve must land past the kitchen in the box diagonal from the server to be a valid serve. Serves that clip the net and land past the kitchen line are considered valid or legal serves.
Two-bounce: The returning team has to return the serve off of a bounce, this is bounce 1. Then the serving team also has to let the return of the serve bounce before hitting it, this is bounce number 2. After the two-bounce, the play is open.
No-volley zone: Players can hit the ball off without a bounce, which is a full toss, when they are not in the no-volley zone or the ‘kitchen’. Hitting a full toss from the ‘kitchen’ loses a point.
History
The game dates back to 1965 and was created in Bainbridge Island, USA. Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum created the game to entertain their children who were bored of routine summertime activities. As the sport was made as a mix of rules thrown together, hence, it is named after the pickle boat, a rowing crew that is thrown together from available rowers.
The trend
Not only at the professional or the amateur level, the game as it was invented, is played by families for fun. The game gained popularity as it is not physically tiring and easy to understand, also it is played by almost every age group.
In 2020, the number of players for the sport in Tamil Nadu quadrupled in less than a year. Tamil Nadu Pickleball Association also organised the South India Pickleball Premier League recently which featured about 70 pickleball players.
