The Ultimate Guide to Pickleball
Learn about the USA’s fastest-growing sport and how you can play Pickleball in Sydney
When it comes to racket sports, there’s a relatively new kid in town. It’s called Pickleball, and it’s a fun alternate racket sport that’s bringing new players to Sydney courts. Pickleball is the US’s fastest-growing sport, and in this article, you’ll discover how you can join the racket revolution and start playing Pickleball in Sydney.
Pickleball might sound like it’s a game rather than a sport. But despite the fun name and general appeal to people of all ages, it’s becoming a seriously competitive sport. With thousands of committed athletes battling it out in highly competitive tournaments and courts popping up all over NSW, we thought it was time to study this fascinating sport.
Eager to dive straight in and try this fascinating mashup of tennis, badminton and ping pong? There are several locations around Sydney where Pickleball can be played, including Voyager’s Willoughby venue, where players can book a court.
A relatively short history but a very big future
The history of Pickleball
When Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum and Bill Bell invented the game in 1965, they could never have imagined that 60 years later, Pickleball would become the fastest-growing sport in the US. It began as a way to keep kids occupied during weekends away on Bainbridge Island, but soon the adults were taking over the court.
Barney, Joel and Bill started on a badminton court, using table tennis paddles. But as the friends became more competitive, they added new rules to make the game more even and competitive. Many of those rules, including the kitchen (a non-volley zone) and the low net height, are still fundamental foundations of modern Pickleball.
The game finally escaped the island to Seattle, but it was still only played by its trio of inventors, their friends and family. They’d begun to create standardised beginner kits with rackets, balls and a net, but the kits weren’t exactly flying off the shelves. The moment Pickleball started to go mainstream was when a New York Times article exposed it to a broader audience. Suddenly the Pickleball inventors began receiving hundreds of orders for Pickleball kits. They knew the sport was about to explode in popularity.
In 2023, there are now 3.3 million players in the US, and the same sudden popularity the sport enjoyed during the 70s and 80s is being repeated in Australia. With new courts opening and competitions appearing on the sporting calendar, there’s a growing contingent of players enjoying Pickleball in Sydney.
So why is Pickleball so popular?
Let’s take a look at the rules that make this racket sport unique
Pickleball is a combination of tennis, ping pong and badminton. At first, it looks like a scaled-down version of tennis played with hard rackets and a perforated ball. But on closer inspection, there’s a focus on strategy. In fact, it could be the ultimate sport for players who would rather outthink than outrun their rivals. That’s one of the reasons why people who have struggled with the court size and pace of tennis are now playing Pickleball in Sydney.
The Pickleball court uses different zones to make gameplay more challenging. The most important is the kitchen zone, which is designed to prevent players close to the net from volleying the ball. While you can attack a ball that bounces in the kitchen zone, you must immediately withdraw from the zone as soon as you hit the ball. So regardless of whether you can handle the heat, you’ve got to get out of the kitchen!
The hard rackets and perforated ball affect the bounce and speed of the ball, making the comparatively small court deceptively tricky to cover. Whether you’re playing singles or doubles, you must reach a score of eleven to win and also need to win by at least two points.
Many of the other rules mimic tennis. For instance, you lose a point as you would on a tennis court: letting the ball bounce twice, hitting it twice, slugging it out of bounds, and failing to get over the net. But while you serve diagonally across the court, similarly to tennis, serves are more like tennis lobs, and cannot bounce in the kitchen zone. If you serve a fault, you lose your serve.
The ideal Pickleball player
Do you have what it takes to be a champion of Pickleball in Sydney?
Pickleball is easy to learn and easy on the body. Most people can learn the basic rules in five minutes and start playing competitive matches immediately. If you’re imagining a more passive sport, you’re in for a shock. Experienced players can turn a Pickleball game into a heated battle.
Regardless of your age or physical fitness, it’s the strategic element of Pickleball that makes it unlike any other racket sport. What it lacks in pace, it makes up for in planning and tactics.
How competitive you are depends on the players you face. An evenly matched game with players of similar skills will create a fun and competitive contest. But for the growing number of serious players, there are now tournaments for Pickleball in Sydney. Watch some of the top Pickleball players in action, and you’ll understand why the game is developing so quickly in popularity.
Why choose Pickleball instead of other racket games?
The number one reason for Pickleball’s popularity with all age groups is the low impact on the body. Tennis and squash are fantastic games, but anyone who has played in a competitive match knows about the impact on knees, shoulders, elbows, ankles and shins.
Pickleball’s smaller court, perforated ball and hard racket combine to create a slower-paced game without sacrificing excitement and competitiveness. You’ll still struggle to cover the court, but you’ll suffer less jarring and require less aerobic fitness.
The other benefits you expect from tennis apply to Pickleball, including the ability to play outdoors, enjoy the sun, socialise, keep fit and develop better coordination. Pickleball is a win-win for people looking to get more active without the risk of injury.
Not all paddles are created equally
Pickleball, Padel and Paddle Tennis are different.
While Pickleball is the ultimate mashup of three popular racket sports, Paddle Tennis and Padel are more closely based on tennis. Paddle Tennis is a smaller version of the traditional sport, which uses Tennis rules and scoring, while Padel is played on a large tennis-style court and adds an additional twist with underarm serves and squash-style walls used in gameplay.
These differences significantly influence the type of players the sports attract. For instance, Padel is an intriguing strategic and physical challenge due to the larger court and surrounding walls. Paddle Tennis is perfect for tennis lovers who want a small compact court while retaining basic tennis rules. And last but not least, Pickleball combines the convenience of a smaller court with exciting and unique rules.
Padel and Pickleball are two of the fastest-growing sports in the world, but they attract different types of players. Padel is a very challenging game with all tennis’s physical and mental challenges, plus the addition of squash-style walls. It’s probably not the best game for a casual social get-together.
The smaller court used in Pickleball makes it perfect for a casual match. Players are always close together, and without the Padel walls, it’s a more pleasant way to enjoy the sunshine. For more serious players, it also has unique rules to master, making it a great strategic challenge. For athletes who have excellent coordination and aerobic stamina but never quite mastered tennis, Pickleball could present a great opportunity.
Regardless of your Pickleball ambitions, it’s the perfect time to try this fascinating sport. Enjoy a great day in the sun at Voyager’s Willoughby venue or Voyager’s Seaforth venue and if you love the game with the right skills, guidance, talent and hard work, you could become a future champion of Pickleball in Sydney.
Start with a free trial for a group coaching sessions for adults or juniors.
