GET STARTED
PICKLEBALL
Like the idea of tennis, but backhand severely lacking? This fun racquet spor t is more accessible – and nothing at all to do with gherkins
Words Cheryl Freedman.
Photograph iStock
It’s the mash-up of tennis, badminton and ping-pong we didn’t know we needed – and it’s never been more popular. While pickleball was invented back in 1965 by two bored US dads messing around on a badminton court, it was during the pandemic that it really took off.
‘Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the US, with 4.8m players,’ says Karen Mitchell, director of Pickleball England. Thirty-seven countries are now part of the International Pickleball Federation, including a mushrooming UK fanbase.