Is Pickleball a New Way to Stay Fit or Just a Craze?

It’s the latest fad to hit the courts — but will it last?

Photo by Ben Hershey on Unsplash

In 2013 I made an acquaintance with a woman married to my husband’s friend.

During dinner, she asked if I played pickleball? What the heck is pickleball?

Carol explained it was a cross between tennis and ping-pong and maybe a bit of badminton thrown in, too.

How the heck did this game come to be, and why the silly name?

The story is that in 1965, three dads tired of hearing their children complain of boredom created this game for them. They loved it.

There are two versions of how the name came about. The wife of one of the men coined the term as the game is a combination of three other sports, referencing the second-string crewing the “pickle boat” in rowing.

Another understanding is that the game was named after one of the creator’s dogs, “Pickles,” as she loved chasing the ball.

Learning

Carol is several years older than me and reported that the game is perfect for older adults as the court is smaller than a tennis court, approximately one-fourth the size, and the game is usually played with doubles.