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PICKLEBALL FOR ALL
Players of all ages can handle the heat as long as they stay out of the kitchen by PAIGE AIGRET
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ickleball. It’s simple. It’s fun. It’s accessible. It’s sociable. And it’s widely recognized as the fastestgrowing 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 Tallahassee, said celebrity influencers including Serena Williams and LeBron James have been a factor; both have invested in their own leagues. “If all of a sudden a pro football, tennis or any player or person that has stature does something, everybody sees it, right? And you want to try it,” Mongerie said. “That
32 March-April 2023 TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM
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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.
photography by THE WORKMANS