Pickleball is growing in popularity around the globe rapidly.
Why may that be? Well, for starters, it is inclusive for people of all ages and levels to play and does not require too much equipment.
While most common in the United States, the sport is spreading the love to other countries, so much so that some of the biggest sports icons are becoming involved. Furthermore, in 2021, Major League Pickleball was created to take the sport to the next level.
What exactly is Pickleball, how do you play and where does the name come from? Let’s get into it.
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What is Pickleball?
Pickleball is a sport that can be played both indoors or outdoors and is played on a badminton-sized court with a smaller-sized tennis net.
The sport, which can be enjoyed as doubles (two players per team) or singles, is played with a paddle and a plastic ball with holes.
Sports
Players of all ages and skill levels can take on the sport.
How do you play Pickleball?
Whether you play singles or doubles, a 44-foot long (inclusive of lines) and 20-foot wide (inclusive of lines) court is used.
An underhand serve or drop serve will start the point and the shot must go crosscourt.
In Pickleball, the first two shots must bounce. From there, you can hit it in the air or after the ball bounces.
You lose the point if there is a double bounce, you hit the ball out of bounds or if someone hits the net.
How does Pickleball scoring work?
Points can only be earned by the serving team.
The first number in a score is the serving team's score, while the second number is the receiving team's score. The last number is only prevalent in doubles Pickleball and represents the current server (will be 1 or 2), ex: 8-4-1
Pickleball games are played to 11 points and must win by two points.
What is Major League Pickleball?
Major League Pickleball (MLP) is an elite Pickleball league that consists of the world's greatest talent.
There are 12 teams in the league with each squad consisting of two men and two women. Some of the MLP events in the 2022 season included a tournament in Austin, Texas, and one in Newport Beach, Calif. On Oct. 14, the last competition of the season will take place in Columbus, Ohio.
Who are some notable team owners of Major League Pickleball?
There is a solid list of team owners and partners associated with Major League Pickleball.
Some of these iconic names include NBA stars LeBron James, Draymond Green, Kevin Love and NFL champ Drew Brees. Other notable names include former men’s No. 1 tennis player James Blake and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks Marc Lasry among others.
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and former No. 1 women’s tennis player Kim Clijsters announced on Wednesday that they will partake in a 2013 MLP expansion team that will see 12 teams in the league grow to 16, three events on the schedule double to six and prize money expand.
Where did the name Pickleball originate?
There is a reason this fast-growing sport is named after a pickled cucumber.
One of the creators of the sport, Joel Pritchard and his wife Joan, said “the combination of different sports reminded me of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.”
According to family friend Barney McCallum, Pritchard's dog was named Pickles and that's where the name actually originated.
Who knows, maybe the combination of reasons made for the best name fit.
