A mixture of tennis, table tennis and badminton, this sport invented in 1965 is gaining more and more followers across the Atlantic.
This is “a bizarre cross between tennis, table tennis and badminton, which is played with a paddle and a perforated plastic ball”, abstract NPR. Le pickleball, a “obscure padel game”, East “one of the fastest growing sports in the United States”reports American radio on Saturday, February 19.
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Invented in 1965 by three fathers from Washington State, the game – whose name would be derived from that of a dog belonging to them, called Pickles – is experiencing a new craze. It now has some 4.8 million players, nearly double from five years ago, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. And the demand is so strong in the United States that many courts are being built.
“Addictive”
Freida Yueh, a retiree who started playing pickleball with her husband two years ago, says:
It’s addictive. (…) In fact, all our acquaintances play pickleball.”
Pickleball initially seemed to appeal mainly to seniors, since most regular players – those who play it more than eight times a year – are over 65. But according to figures from USA Pickleball, quoted by the radio, his followers “rejuvenate”with the strongest growth recorded among players under the age of 55.
Above all, pickleball is becoming more professional. “The game now has two national professional tournaments, both created within the last four years, and pickleball organizers are courting corporate sponsors to help grow the sport in the United States and abroad, as part of a candidacy for Olympic integration”details the article.
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