Paddles Up PickleBall- Top-tier Pickleball in Suffolk County

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BEST OF LONG ISLAND IS BACK!!
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Where Did Pickleball Come From?

The year is 1965...

After playing golf one Saturday during the summer, Joel Pritchard, congressman from Washington State and Bill Bell, successful businessman, returned to Pritchard’s home on Bainbridge Island, WA (near Seattle) to find their families sitting around with nothing to do. The property had an old badminton court so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment and could not find a full set of rackets.

They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. At first they placed the net at badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net. As the weekend progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and

soon the net was lowered to 36 inches.

The following weekend, Barney McCallum was introduced to the game at Pritchard’s home. Soon, the three men created rules, relying heavily on badminton. They kept in mind the original purpose, which was to provide a game that the whole family could play together.

Where Did Padel Come From?

It has been called “pickleball’s posher, privileged cousin” (thank you, Washington Post). It has also been defined (by The Times) as “the fastest growing sport in the world.”

But even without the hype, the hoopla and the hyperbole, Padel is gaining traction in the USA, where it is on the cusp of its biggest growth yet.

Need a full description of the sport?

Padel is an up-and-coming court sport that resembles both pickleball and tennis, with elements of squash and racquetball as well. It is played in doubles on an enclosed court with a synthetic turf surface. The court walls are made of glass and metallic mesh.

While the scoring system in Padel is similar to that of tennis, the equipment is different. Padel is played with a racket that is more paddle-like in shape and design. The racquet is solid, with holes running through it. A tennis ball has a larger diameter, ranging from 6.54 cm to 6.86 cm, while a padel ball is slightly smaller, with a diameter of 6.35 cm to 6.77 cm. This brings about subtle but significant differences in play behavior. Due to their lower internal pressure, Padel balls have a lower bounce than tennis balls, leading to longer rallies and a game that places more emphasis on strategy and technique.

The sport, which originated in Mexico, has been making inroads in the USA. Its national governing body is the US Padel Association, whose mission it is to lead Padel’s growth and development in the United States. The international governing body is the International Padel Federation (FIP).