Odd name aside, Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States with nearly five million players and was named Washington state’s official sport in 2022.
The game was invented on Bainbridge Island by three couples in 1965 and has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past several years due in part to its short learning curve and appeal to players of all ages and athletic abilities. It is effectively an amalgam of whiffle ball, ping pong and tennis played on a badminton-sized court.
Pickleball comes with its own set of rules and terminologies, can be played as singles or doubles, the latter being the most popular, and courts are popping up all over, including at luxury resorts in Mexico, Florida, California and the British Virgin Islands.
Eli Manning, Andre Agassi, Stephen Colbert, Emma Watson, Daniel Dae Kim, Luis Guzmán, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sugar Ray Leonard and other celebs and athletes are fans and players, and Major League Pickleball was established in 2021. NBA star LeBron James owns a professional pickleball club, as does the NFL’s Tom Brady, who announced his commitment to the sport on Instagram. “I’ve been trying to find a way to extend my professional sports career, in my 40s, even into my 50s, 60s, 70s! As long as I can, right? And I think I got the answer,” he told his 13 million followers. “Seems like everyone else has the answer too — pickleball!”
