Facts About Pickleball

Pickleball was invented in the summer of 1965 by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum, who put the game together on Bainbridge Island, Washington, to entertain their families.

The most widely repeated story is that the game was named after the Pritchards' dog, Pickles, who chased the ball — but according to the Pritchard family's own account, the name actually came first, from the "pickle boat" in crew rowing, a boat crewed by leftover oarsmen from other teams; the dog Pickles was born a few years later and was named after the game, not the other way around.

A pickleball court is 20 feet wide by 44 feet long, roughly a third the size of a standard tennis court.

The net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches high in the middle.

Pickleball paddles are solid (no strings, unlike tennis or badminton) and are typically made of wood, graphite, or composite materials.

The pickleball itself is a hollow, perforated plastic ball similar to a wiffle ball, just slightly smaller and with smaller holes.

Pickleball can be played as singles (one on one) or doubles (two on two), and doubles is by far the more common format.

It's considered a low-impact sport, which is part of why it appeals to players of a wide range of ages and fitness levels.

Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the United States for several years running, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, with participation jumping from about 4.2 million players in 2020 to over 24 million in 2025.

The sport is now played in dozens of countries around the world, with international federations helping it spread well beyond the U.S.

USA Pickleball (formerly known as the USAPA, the USA Pickleball Association) is the sport's national governing body in the United States.

Tournaments are held at every level, from casual local round-robins to USA Pickleball's national championships.

Despite a push from fans and organizers, pickleball was not selected for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics; sports added for those Games include flag football, cricket, lacrosse, squash, and baseball/softball. The earliest realistic shot at Olympic inclusion is the 2032 Brisbane Games.

Pickleball's "kitchen" is the 7-foot non-volley zone on each side of the net — players can't hit the ball out of the air while standing inside it.

Every pickleball serve must be hit underhand, below the waist, and land diagonally in the opponent's service court.

The double-bounce rule requires the ball to bounce once on each side of the court after the serve before either team can start volleying.

Many players say the social side of pickleball — the camaraderie of games at the local court — is as big a draw as the exercise itself.