PICKLEBALL FOR ALL Players of all ages can handle the heat as long as they stay out of the kitchen STORY BY PAIGE AIGRET PHOTOS BY THE WORKMANS
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ickleball. It’s simple. It’s fun. It’s accessible. It’s sociable. And it’s widely recognized as the fastest-growing sport in the country.
The USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) has reported that the sport has grown nearly 40% since 2018, with 4.8 million players across the U.S. in 2022. The game combines elements of tennis, badminton and pingpong, according to the USAPA, and is played — singles or doubles — on a badminton-size court with a modified tennis net. Paddles, larger than those for pingpong but smaller than a tennis racquet, are used to strike a plastic, perforated ball similar to a Wiffle ball. Players serve underhand and cross court. The serve must bounce once but never twice, and the “kitchen,” or non-volley zone, is off limits. The game is typically played to a score of 11 or 15. Although new to many, pickleball got its start over half a century ago in Bainbridge, Washington, as a backyard game created by a few dads with bored children. So what accounts for its widespread popularity now? Lenin Mongerie, the tennis and pickleball operations supervisor for the City of
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Physicians & Medical Resource Guide 2023-24
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Lenin Mongerie, the director of tennis and pickleball operations for the City of Tallahassee, credits sports superstars Serena Williams and LeBron James with helping to popularize pickleball. The city has responded by adding more public courts.