What Is Pickleball? A Beginner's Guide to Britain's Fastest-Growing Racket Sport

A few years ago, most people in Britain had never heard the word. Today there are pickleball lines painted across leisure centre floors, courts appearing in village halls, and beginner sessions that fill up within minutes. It has become one of the fastest-growing racket sports in the country, and if you have not tried it yet, there is a fair chance a friend is about to drag you along. So what exactly is pickleball, and why has it caught on so quickly?

What is pickleball?

Pickleball is a racket sport that borrows a little from tennis, a little from badminton, and a little from table tennis, then blends them into something friendlier than all three. It is played on a court the same size as a doubles badminton court (20 feet by 44 feet), with a net set slightly lower than a tennis net. Instead of a stringed racket you use a solid pickleball paddle, and instead of a felt ball you hit a light, perforated plastic ball that looks a bit like a whiffle ball.

That combination is the whole secret. The ball is slow and does not bounce very high, the court is small enough to cover without sprinting, and the paddle is easy to control from the first swing. Most people can rally within minutes, which is why it has spread so fast among all ages. You can play singles, but doubles is the usual format, which keeps the running down and the chatter up.

Why is it called pickleball?

The name is one of the sport's most-asked questions, and there are two competing stories. Pickleball was invented in the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, by three friends (Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum) trying to keep their bored children entertained. They improvised a game with table tennis paddles and a plastic ball over a badminton net, lowering the net once they saw the ball bounced nicely off the tarmac.

One version says the game was named after the Pritchards' dog, Pickles, who liked to chase the ball. The other, told by Joan Pritchard, traces it to the "pickle boat" in rowing, the boat crewed by whoever was left over from the other teams, because pickleball itself was cobbled together from the leftovers of other sports. The timelines suggest the pickle boat came first and the family dog was actually named later, but both stories have stuck, and either makes for a good ice-breaker on court.

How do you play pickleball?

The basics are quick to learn, which is a large part of the appeal. Here is what you need to know to get through your first game without looking lost.

The serve and scoring

The serve is underarm and hit diagonally into the opposite service box, with the paddle making contact below the waist. Games are usually played to 11 points, win by two. In the traditional format only the serving side can score, so if you are receiving, winning the rally hands you the serve rather than a point. Points come in bursts, and a game can swing quickly once you get on a roll.

The double-bounce rule

This is the rule that trips up tennis players first. After the serve, the ball must bounce on the receiving side, and the return must also bounce, before either team may hit it out of the air. In other words, the first two shots of every rally have to bounce. This stops the serving team from rushing the net to smash, and gives rallies time to develop.

The kitchen, or non-volley zone

The area seven feet back from the net on each side is officially the non-volley zone, though everyone calls it "the kitchen". You may not volley the ball (hit it out of the air) while standing in the kitchen or on its line. You can step in to play a ball that has bounced, but not to volley. This one rule shapes the tactical game, stopping players from camping at the net and forcing the gentle, dinking exchanges that make pickleball so distinctive.

Can you play pickleball on a tennis court?

Yes, and this is often how clubs get started. A pickleball court is much smaller than a tennis court, so a single tennis court has room for the smaller court to be marked out inside it, and busier venues fit several. All you really need is a set of temporary lines and a net at the right height. Many tennis clubs now add pickleball lines in a second colour or use portable nets and court equipment so the same space can serve both sports. If you already have access to a tennis court, you are most of the way to a pickleball court.

The lower net and smaller court are worth remembering if you are coming from tennis. The instinct to swing hard and stand back works against you, because the slow ball rewards touch and placement far more than power.

Why has pickleball taken off in the UK?

The growth has been remarkable. Pickleball England reported that venues jumped 58 per cent in a year to 449 in 2023, with registered membership climbing past 6,000 and an estimated 15,000 people playing across the country. Since then participation has roughly tripled, courts have spread into leisure centres and church halls, and the national championships now draw thousands of entrants from dozens of countries. By any measure, it is one of the fastest-growing racket sports in Britain.

The reasons are easy to see once you have played. The learning curve is gentle, so beginners are rallying on day one rather than week ten. The small court and doubles format are sociable, suiting people who want exercise and company rather than a solo grind. It is kind on the body, so it appeals across a wide age range, and the kit is cheap to get going with.

How to get started

Getting on court is refreshingly simple. Search for a local club or a "pickleball near me" session, as most run pay-and-play beginner nights where paddles and balls are provided so you can try before buying anything. Once you are hooked, a starter paddle set that comes with two or four paddles and a few balls is the easiest way to kit out a household or a group of friends.

Beyond the paddle and ball, the one piece of kit worth thinking about early is footwear. The quick, side-to-side movement rewards proper court shoes with lateral support rather than running trainers, which are built for moving forwards, not sideways. Everything else can wait.

That, in a nutshell, is pickleball: a small court, a slow ball, a solid paddle, and rules simple enough to learn in an afternoon yet deep enough to keep you coming back. Whether you are a tennis player after a gentler game or someone who has never picked up a paddle, there has rarely been an easier sport to start. The hardest part is finding a free court.