Here’s the thing: There are no pickles involved in pickleball.
There is a ball, yes, plastic and with holes, slightly bigger than a tennis ball. There are two to four players and rackets for each. Players use their paddles to hit the ball over a net with the hope their opponent is unable to send the ball back.
Now the fastest-growing sport in America, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, pickleball is a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis.
Even though it’s only really taken off in the last few years, pickleball has been around since 1965 when Joel Pritchard, a U.S. representative from Washington state, and a friend repurposed an old badminton court in Pritchard’s backyard to create a game their whole family could play together. The first permanent pickleball court was later built in the backyard of Pritchard’s friend and neighbor, Bob O’Brian.
Prichard’s wife, Joan Pritchard, named the game after “pickle boats,” rowing boats that are thrown together with leftover non-starters of crew races, according to pickleball lore.
Brian Wagner, chief administrative officer at Heyday Athletic in Philadelphia, said Heyday Athletic began offering a pickleball league in the spring of 2022 after he saw pickleball “starting to take the country by storm.”
“We saw how popular pickleball was throughout the country,” Wagner said.
Heyday Athletic has since opened four courts in Philadelphia.
As of March 2023, an estimated 48.3 million adult Americans have played pickleball in the past 12 months, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals. There are now over 11,000 locations to play pickleball and over 40,000 courts across the U.S., according to USA Pickleball. A number of those courts have replaced old tennis courts.
Pickleball has many qualities that draw people to it. It is accessible, easy to learn and can be played at all ages and skill levels. The sport is also inexpensive. A paddle and a ball will set you back about $20.
Abbey Chan ’26 has been playing for five years now and thinks the sport will continue to grow with more places to play. She was introduced to the game by her family. She, her cousins and some neighbors all played together at a court near her cousins’ house.
“It’s a fun sport, and it’s not super taxing,” Chan said. “It’s pretty low impact, and the rules aren’t that difficult. You can play it both indoor and outdoor. Anybody can do it.”
Chan plays in St. Joe’s intramural pickleball league, which started this past fall and has 68 participants, wrote Daniel Yen, campus recreation specialist, in an email to The Hawk. Campus Recreation offers a Men’s Doubles Pickleball League, a Mixed Doubles Pickleball League and a Women’s Doubles Pickleball League, all on Hawk Hill.
The newly renovated O’Pake Fitness and Recreation Center now includes three multi-sport courts behind the front desk, which are netted and painted for pickleball play, Yen said.
Caroline Sendi ’26, who participates in the St. Joe’s league, said she enjoys being able to play a sport that is easy to pick up with her friends.
“I thought that would be fun to sign up because it’s basically like tennis and you get to play with your best friends,” Sendi said.
Sendi was also introduced to the game by her family.
“It’s not just meant for one specific generation,” Sendi said. “I know my mom does clinics. She’s not even the oldest person or the youngest person, so it’s just nice to see that everyone likes to play it.”
Matteo Reina ’28, who plays in the St. Joe’s league, is a newcomer to pickleball. He only started playing towards the end of October.
“It’s honestly an easy game to learn, easy to keep developing,” Reina said.
Wagner said he sees no end to the pickleball craze.
“I don’t know if it’s reached its peak. It might not even reach its final form,” Wagner said. “There’s more professional leagues starting. You’re seeing a lot of pretty influential people starting to play it, starting to get involved in it. I think we’re going to see pickleball continue this type of upward trend.”
