In recent years, pickleball has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.
The rules of pickleball were created by three friends in Washington, combining badminton and ping-pong, according to the USA Pickleball website.
Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell attempted to find something for their families to do during the summer of 1965. Pritchard’s home had an old badminton court. They began looking for equipment. With no luck, they improvised and used old ping-pong paddles and a plastic ball.
They originally had the net at 60 inches, the height of a badminton net. After realizing the ball bounced well off the pavement, they lowered the net to 36 inches.
The pair introduced the game to another friend and began creating rules with their original plan in mind, a game for the whole family to enjoy.
Pritchard’s wife, Joan, came up with the name “pickleball” in reference to the leftover non-starters in the pickle boat, the last boat to finish in crew races, according to the USA Pickleball website.
Two years later, the first pickleball court was constructed in Pritchard’s neighbor’s backyard. From there, pickleball began to grow. By 1990, the sport was played in all 50 states.
Pickleball is most commonly played as doubles but can be played as singles. The server must underhand from behind the baseline and serve it cross-court past the kitchen area.
The kitchen refers to the non-volley zone located seven feet on either side of the net, from sideline to sideline, according to Pickleheads.com. The line marking its location is called the kitchen line.
The game is played to 11 and a team must win by two. Points can only be scored by the serving team. The receiving team must let the ball bounce once and the serving team must let the returning ball bounce before hitting. After, the ball may bounce or be volleyed. However, a player cannot strike the ball from the kitchen unless it bounced in the kitchen first.
Various pickleball locations in the country have opened as the sport gains popularity, such as the family restaurant and entertainment complex, Chicken N Pickle.
Dave Johnson, Chicken N Pickle founder, was introduced to the sport when visiting a friend in Arizona. Johnson noticed the courts always had a game in play and were full of energy.
Johnson returned to Kansas City and began researching pickleball with his team. They realized the sport was quickly evolving and opened the first Chicken N Pickle location.
With ten locations and six coming soon, Chicken N Pickle continues to grow as the sport gains more players and popularity.
“Anytime I’m in the pickleball arena there’s always tons of people. Whether it’s eight in the morning or ten o’clock at night, our indoor pickleball areas are always, always busy,” community coordinator Brian Lamb said. “People are on a waiting list for weeks at a time just to even play in there.”
Pickleball brings people of all ages together because its ease and accessibility. The friendly competition brought to the matches keeps the sport growing.
“Pickleball you can play your whole life,” Lamb said. “So I don’t see pickleball slowing down when it comes to popularity.”
The sport has evolved at UTA through an intramural team, workshops and a pickleball club. Students can also check out pickleball equipment at the Maverick Activities Center to play on the indoor or outdoor courts.
Pickleball courts were added to UTA during Doug Kuykendall’s 40 years as Campus Recreation director before his retirement over 11 years ago.
“It’s been around for quite some time,” said Josh Hale, Campus Recreation assistant director for sports programs. “It kind of slowed down, not a lot of people knew what it was, and now we’re starting to see the growth again.”
The UTA Mavericks Pickleball Club began in 2023 when the group saw the sport becoming popular and wanted to represent UTA.
Luis Cruz, economics junior and UTA Mavericks Pickleball Club member, hopes to see a more competitive scene on campus.
“Hopefully within a year or two we can start seeing some really big tournaments and a lot more scholarships,” Cruz said.
Cruz began playing the sport about two and half years ago when he joined his mom one day. He kept playing for fun because it was something to do with his friends and family.
“It’s really easy to get into. It’s very social,” Cruz said. “Even if you’re not the most athletic, you can just go hang out, have fun.”
Interested students can join the intramural team through the campus recreation website or find the pickleball club on social media @mavpickleball.
“It’s easy to get attached and want to keep playing,” Cruz said. “I’ve never seen a sport that so many different athletes and non-athletes can come together and compete.”
@francisca324_
