Pickleball - tell me all about it!

[Roaminginthegloaming]

My friend who lives in the USA has been raving about playing Pickleball and is urging me to give it a go.

She says it’s like a cross between badminton and tennis, but I’ve never seen it played anywhere, although apparently it’s becoming extremely popular in many countries.

Does anyone play Pickleball?

What do I need to know? Tbh I’ve never been any good at playing team sports (although I do like table tennis lol!). My friend is very sporty and is in her fifties, but in the UK is it mostly played by much younger people? Do you have to wear special clothes and are the racquets expensive? Is there a good mix of male/females playing the sport?

I don't think it is exclusive to younger people.
I have a friend who lives in one of those retirement villages and she says they have quite an active league going. Men and women, and obviously not youngsters.

I live in the US and it's MASSIVE over here. In my town, half the tennis courts have been converted to double amount of pickleball courts and, in the summer, they are always full. It's definitely not about old people (it used to be) but it does give older athletic people who have learned to play properly a chance to shine. I belong to a club and there is nothing better than watching a guy in his 20s who thinks all you have to do is blast the ball down be destroyed by a 70 year old woman who knows how to play. I cannot recommend this game enough to everyone!

It’s growing in popularity in the UK, my DH is 70+ and he plays 3 times a week!

No special clothes needed. You can order a paddle from Amazon. If you're serious about wanting to learn the game, invest in the paddle! You will buy a 20 quid one and next thing, you're hooked and you're buying a 50-100 quid one. Just go there in the first place!

And then just google where has places you can learn to play. Having lessons is a great idea.