“I’d never heard about it. And then I only hear about it.”

May 27, 2022 7:37 AM

Pickleball is the Wild, Wild West
posted by box (50 comments total)

We played pickleball in high school gym in the 90s. Really fun. You could put crazy English on the ball.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 7:48 AM on May 27, 2022

Huh, so it turns out Pickleball isn't the same game as Padel, which is currently growing like kudzu all over Europe, though the fighting for control is similar
posted by chavenet at 7:51 AM on May 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

Can someone who's more of a sports person than me (which would be anyone) confirm something:

Pickleball is to tennis as whiffleball is to baseball. Is that more or less accurate?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:06 AM on May 27, 2022

While you're answering that one, explain to me what pickleball has that badminton doesn't have; that's the only question that really gnaws at me.
posted by eclectist at 8:21 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

In short, picklebalkanization.

Exquisitely well-played.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:22 AM on May 27, 2022 [27 favorites]

Combine ping-pong (the racquet is hard with no strings), with whiffleball (the ball is plastic but not as asymmetrical with the holes as are most whiffleballs), with tennis (but with a smaller court size), and you've got it for the most part.
posted by Windopaene at 8:23 AM on May 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

It’s so, so white. Unless my adblocker was hiding a lot of photos there is precisely one face in this article that’s not white.
posted by egypturnash at 8:24 AM on May 27, 2022 [5 favorites]

My mom has taken up pickleball because her boyfriend does it. This is the most jockish I've ever heard of my mom being.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:31 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

It’s so, so white.

The first time I saw people playing it, not only was it an all white group, but their cars all had MAGA / Lock Her UP stickers.
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:34 AM on May 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

My whole family plays when we get together. It's so much fun and is pretty easy to play even for folks with somewhat limited mobility.
posted by schyler523 at 8:35 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

This is like 10 years ago when I first heard and saw “cornhole” and then suddenly it was everywhere and in every bar and somehow I have a set in my backyard. Big Cornhole.
posted by freecellwizard at 8:42 AM on May 27, 2022 [11 favorites]

Needs Will Farrell movie send up.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:10 AM on May 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

This is like 10 years ago when I first heard and saw “cornhole” and then suddenly it was everywhere and in every bar

I was introduced to the cornhole phenomenon while on a business trip to Pittsburgh. A work friend took me to their neighborhood bar to watch a Penguins game. A large man turned to me and asked "Hey buddy, you Cornhole?" "Uh...sometimes?" My work friend realized the misunderstanding and spit her beer all over the table.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:24 AM on May 27, 2022 [27 favorites]

Pickleball is very fun and, at least here in Florida, because it's primarily the domain of retirees, it's extremely white and extremely country-club conservative. Which technically makes my profane, over the top playing style and my monopolization of court space for hours at a time an act of civil disobedience.
posted by saladin at 9:34 AM on May 27, 2022 [13 favorites]

Ah. This article explains a lot! I've started to feel like pickleball has been Baader Meinhof-ing in my brain for the last couple of years.

There's this court case, Roberts v. Vernon Pickleball Association, in which the plaintiff includes a...hashtag in one of his applications to the court:

He also appears to seek an award of damages at paragraph 12 of Part 3 of his Amended Notice of Application:

12. I believe I should get some compensation for my pain and suffering as well as the stress, ostracism and bullying they subjected me to, to the exclusion of any other members. #why me

Plunking "pickleball" into Google News for Canada turns up these news items just from the last month or so alone:

Amid pickleball noise controversy, Niagara-on-the-Lake residents share how we can live in audible harmony

Pickleball’s growth raises a racket in Victoria, amid bans over noise complaints

Noise complaints get pickleballers kicked off James Bay courts in Victoria

Parking lot given to pickleball players subject of human rights complaint

I mean, I know Victoria is home to lots of retirees, so that seems to track.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:40 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Pickleball & Cornhole will be my next pair of cats names, for sure.
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 10:01 AM on May 27, 2022 [16 favorites]

There’s enough prior art (?) that the would be tycoons can’t actually exclude anyone from unaffiliated community center pickle ball, I hope? They can’t actually keep people from playing?
posted by clew at 10:05 AM on May 27, 2022

Pickleball is fun, as far as I can tell. I took a class in an echo-y gym, so I couldn't hear well enough to make out how the scoring works, exactly. It's probably more fun if you understand it. There's also something with who can serve to whom and whose turn it is to hit the ball, which may or may not be a thing in badminton (I never played more than the "if you let it hit the ground you lose" version.) That part is tedious, so were I to play it again I'd just play it like badminton, except the ball can bounce.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:09 AM on May 27, 2022

So pickleball is a low impact sport that keeps a lot of people healthy who otherwise have mobility issues. I get it has a stereotype of old white people playing, but that's not because it is necessarily expensive or exclusionary. It is because they can't play other sports and for some reason bowling isn't a thing anymore.
posted by geoff. at 10:15 AM on May 27, 2022 [5 favorites]

For older people it's a fun way to get some exercise. I remember playing it with my now dearly departed grandma when she was in her late 80s one warm Christmas Day in San Diego. She was running back and forth on the court like someone 20 years younger and loving every minute of it. It was great to see.

As for cornhole... I grew up calling it Bean Bag Toss and never heard cornhole until I was an adult. Calling it cornhole is just bizarre to me and I feel like I'm being naughty using that term.
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:15 AM on May 27, 2022 [7 favorites]

Huh, I remember this from high school gym class in the PNW in the 90s, but haven't thought of it since. It definitely had a retirement-home vibe to it back then. It has a long hill to climb if it wants to surpass padel in Europe though: that sport has exploded and every big-box periurban development features at least one court? gym? club? now.
posted by St. Oops at 10:16 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

The pickleball seniors here are well organized. They’ve successfully lobbied towns around here to rebuild most of their tennis courts as pickleball courts, to the point where there are many more idle pickleball courts than tennis courts available.
posted by theclaw at 10:17 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Padel needs walls?!? But you can play adequate pickle ball by adding some stripes and moveable nets to a tennis court?
posted by clew at 10:25 AM on May 27, 2022

Echoing eclectist, I don't understand what perceived need pickleball meets that isn't already met by badminton. Apart from, as others have noticed, only being played by white people. Badminton is low impact (or can be); doesn't require a ton of strength or agility to play at a gentle recreational level; the space needed is modest relative to, say, tennis. The equipment starts out very cheap. And unlike pickleball, Badminton can be played on basically any surface, hard or soft, rough or smooth, since the shuttlecock doesn't need to bounce.
posted by buxtonbluecat at 10:35 AM on May 27, 2022

Needs Will Farrell movie send up.

I feel like it would also stand up well to a Christopher Guest/Michael McKean/Catherine O'Hara/Eugene Levy treatment.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:39 AM on May 27, 2022 [3 favorites]

I feel like it would also stand up well to a Christopher Guest/Michael McKean/Catherine O'Hara/Eugene Levy treatment.

A Mighty Pickle is my working title, though Dinkers and Bangers has potential
posted by nubs at 10:45 AM on May 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

Having played badminton and pickleball, the difference is that pickleball is way more fun.
posted by schyler523 at 10:49 AM on May 27, 2022 [3 favorites]

explain to me what pickleball has that badminton doesn't have

THWOCK!

More seriously, isn't that like asking what baseball has that cricket doesn't have? What American football has that rugby doesn't have? Games that are somewhat different are enjoyed for somewhat different reasons.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:50 AM on May 27, 2022

This is my stance on pickleball
posted by bxvr at 10:51 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

It looks like fun, but the popularity in my local area post-pandemic has caused some NIMBY issues, as I take it the "pop" of the racquet hitting the ball is very loud. Apparently it's easy to socially distance while playing, which is one reason it's taken off over the last two+ years.
posted by gemmy at 10:53 AM on May 27, 2022

During the Rio Olympics, ABC set up a commentary station at the beach because of the good ocean views. During several of the commentaries, you could hear in the background 'pock...pock...' and see people in the distance playing this weird sport with little paddles. It had nothing to do with the Olympics, but lots of people were asking "What the heck sport is that?"

I've heard that gyms that have tennis courts like converting some of them to pickleball courts for several reasons:
o You can fit more courts in the same area
o Pickleball puts much less stress on your arm and joints than a tennis racket, and is therefore a more appropriate sport for a much wider number of people (weekend warriors, older people). For anyone at any age, you can get a good workout with less chance of injury.
posted by eye of newt at 11:00 AM on May 27, 2022

Okay, after posting the above, I did some searching, and found that the sport people saw in the background is the popular Brazillian beach sport of Frescobol, which is very similar to pickleball. There is another similar sport invented in Mexico and popular in Spain, Argentina, and Sweden called Padel.

Padel is similar in many respects to Pickleball but has some different rules and slightly different court size. (I wonder if the sports will converge).

(Just noticed that chavenet mentions Padel in the comments above).
posted by eye of newt at 11:11 AM on May 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

The sudden emergence of "pickleball" is clearly the result of two parallel universes merging without anybody noticing until later. No, it did not exist before about ten years ago; if you remember it from before then, you're from the other timeline.

Throw it on the pile with the "Bernstein Bears" anomalies.
posted by The Tensor at 11:51 AM on May 27, 2022 [6 favorites]

The Bainbridge-specific sport I remember fondly was croquet with special rules for a ball knocked into the sea, because one’s tactics were different low/high bank/tide. That wasn’t going to travel well though. (Freeways? No.)

There are quiet pickle ball paddles advertised that claim to play like the noisy ones, and quiet balls that don’t, but I bet someone will come up with better.
posted by clew at 12:03 PM on May 27, 2022

This thread makes me think I'd like to play, but the article, being a tale of rich douchebags trying to cash in on a new sports market, does not.
posted by emjaybee at 12:07 PM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Yeah, that’s why I’m only interested in unauthorized, nonstandard, pickup pickle ball.
posted by clew at 12:23 PM on May 27, 2022 [3 favorites]

I only ever play with lowlife antiheroes so as to get a more picaresque pickup pickleball.
posted by Etrigan at 12:31 PM on May 27, 2022 [9 favorites]

I'm convinced the popularity growth is because of the Streisand effect and boomers wanting to feel rebellious because the noise can be disruptive to those that aren't playing.

The pickleball courts in my area were removed from the community/rec center near me because of the noise complaints. I live 1-2 miles away and could occasionally hear the cracks from the racket. I can't imagine what it would have been like to try working from home if you lived adjacent to it.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 12:52 PM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

My dad played for a few years, when he was 70-ish, until he hurt his knee and his doctor made him stop. He was really really obsessed with it, as were a lot of his retired friends. They played at the local Y. I jumped in a few times. It is a fun game, because it's not super hard, athletically.
posted by zardoz at 1:20 PM on May 27, 2022

Badminton isn't great to play outside if there's any wind. Or maybe it doesn't matter if you're zipping the birdie back and forth like the good players do and not just lobbing it into the air like I do.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:32 PM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Wow, pickleball where I live is LESS white than tennis because the equipment is so much cheaper. A lot of parks converted one tennis court into two pickleball courts (and left the rest as tennis courts). The other benefits of pickleball over badminton are that you don't have to lift your arm over your head to hit (for people with reduced mobility), and pickleball is a lot easier for little kids -- the ball is larger and easier to see, the racquet is shorter -- it's just a lot easier for them to make contact with the ball. We see a lot of grandparents and grandchildren playing, because with little kids they can actually hit it, and with bigger kids it's a level playing field, and with older grandparents who aren't as mobile, they can still get around the court because it's so small.

I don't really see the appeal of COMPETITIVE pickleball, but as a low-key family game that people of all ages and many skill levels can enjoy together, I totally get it!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:45 PM on May 27, 2022 [5 favorites]

It is easier for my mother to see a fast-moving pickleball than a fast-moving birdie. It's something that she can do even with her limited mobility.

With luck, GenXers and those other generations will also age into pastimes that are easier than the ones we play now. Many things are nefarious, exclusionary Boomer plots for dominance but I really doubt pickleball is one of them.
posted by kimberussell at 3:17 PM on May 27, 2022 [3 favorites]

I think a big part of the appeal of pickle ball is the downsides of tennis. If you don't know what you are doing or just beginning to play tennis, it's absurdly easy to hit the tennis ball way, way out of bounds, and a tennis ball will bounce and roll really far. Pickle ball makes it so there's less long distance chasing after balls. It's like tennis with training wheels, casual tennis for people who don't want to learn tennis—which is really difficult and strenuous. Add in the low cost of equipment, and I can totally see the appeal. It's smaller-range, easier tennis, so accessible for many more people. I've never played it, and I don't play tennis either, but I've watched pickle ball and it looks like fun.
posted by SoberHighland at 3:19 PM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

I used to love raquetball. Maybe if the pickle ball raquet were strung, the noise levels would drop. But maybe the thwok is the thing. Neck spasms ended raquetball for me, post skateboard injury.
posted by Oyéah at 3:32 PM on May 27, 2022

Echoing eclectist, I don't understand what perceived need pickleball meets that isn't already met by badminton. Apart from, as others have noticed, only being played by white people.

There are a ton of public tennis courts that lend themselves to playing pickleball with zero setup. I've never seen a public badminton court.
posted by Dr. Twist at 3:40 PM on May 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'm going to out myself here. I am a Pickleball player.

Herr Duck and I work odd hours, and we often have mornings open together. We make a point of going to the YMCA to get our 12 visits a month in for the health insurance deduction. We wanted to find an indoor exercise-ey activity to do together, so...we joined the Pickleball Crew who take over the whole gymnasium three mornings a week. We are able to attend 2-3 times a week and so far, it's been SO much fun.

We are generally 20 years younger than 80% of the players, and 20 years older than the other 20% who are local homeschooled kids. It's just as much of a social club as it is a workout, and everyone has been absolutely welcoming to us - especially since we're newish and usually the weakest links in whatever game we rotate into. There are folks that literally play every single day, hopping from YMCA branch to branch. Most of the time we get our asses handled to us by octogenarians with knee braces, but we're improving. AND it's a good workout. Honestly, I hope that when I'm in my 80's I'm still as physically fit as some of these folks are.

Our YMCA is pretty diverse, and there is some diversity amongst the pickleball players here but I'd say that most are white people. I'm sure that there are some MAGA folks etc amongst the attendees, but we're not there to talk about politics. We're dinking and bashing and joking around and talking about the Vikings/Wild/Twins while waiting in line for an open court. On my first day there, the regulars were passing around a Get Well card for a regular player who was having a hip replacement. If we miss a few days, they notice and are all "Hey!! Welcome back!!" when we return. It's really sweet!

If you'd told me five years ago that, at 44, I'd be spending my mornings playing Pickleball with a bunch of retirees - and that, sometimes, it's the highlight of my day - I'd think you were bonkers. But the world is full of surprises.
posted by Gray Duck at 4:19 PM on May 27, 2022 [20 favorites]

On a related note, two of the worst people in the world are fighting over Pickleball courts in Montecito.
posted by cali at 4:26 PM on May 27, 2022

My husband started playing a few months ago and is having an experience very much like yours, Gray Duck. No one here plays tennis anymore but pickleball is really becoming a thing and is accessible to a wide range of folks. He’s 10 years older than you and right in the middle of the age range, I think.

The club has gotten permission to paint courts inside outdoor ice rinks around the city that are otherwise unused in the summer, and in the winter rents gym space here and there for league play. It’s nice, it’s a third place that’s not home or work for him and I’m glad he’s into it. And, knock on wood, it’s not destroying his knees.
posted by charmedimsure at 12:14 AM on May 28, 2022 [4 favorites]

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and pickleball was a game we played sometimes in elementary school and junior high PE; the smaller footprint makes it better for gymnasiums.

Hearing that it's now getting traction as a serious business is weird; it's like finding out they made Duck Duck Goose an Olympic sport.
posted by microscone at 10:02 AM on May 28, 2022 [5 favorites]

My uncle has gotten into pickleball in a big way, out at a tournament today. Due to this post I've been able to ask my aunt on the family group chat if she considers him more of a banger or a dinker. Mefi is truly a gift.
posted by ominous_paws at 1:05 PM on May 28, 2022 [1 favorite]