Pickleball is a paddle sport which combines badminton, tennis, and table tennis. It is played on a court with a net lower than one used in tennis. You use a hollow plastic ball with holes similar to a wiffle ball. It was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum. Pritchard’s wife Joan Pritchard, came up with the name as a reference to the thrown-together leftover non-starters in the “Pickle Boat” of crew races. It is the fastest-growing sport in the United States.

In order to play, you serve underhand with the paddle below the server’s waist. The server must be behind the baseline and the serve must go diagonally to the opponent’s service court. There is a two-bounce rule: the serve must bounce once on the opponent’s side of the court and the return shot must bounce once on the server’s side before being hit.

There are essential strokes and strategies as well as rules in both singles and doubles play on the court. The court is 20 feet by 44 feet with the net being 36 inches high. A no volley zone, also known as “The Kitchen, is the area seven feet directly in front of each side of the net. Points are earned by the serving team when the opposing team commits a fault or fails to return the ball legally. Pickleball is played up to 11 points and a team must win by two points to secure victory.