Explainer | What is pickleball? A popular sport that can help with weight loss, is low-cost, fun and that young and old can play together
- Pickleball – embraced by celebrities from Stephen Colbert and Ellen DeGeneres to Tom Brady – has arrived in Hong Kong, but has no government recognition yet
- Players describe the health benefits of the sport, from it being low-impact and highly social to how a player can burn 195 to 350 calories in half an hour
Since its start in 1965, pickleball has hit the big time – with professional leagues, major sponsors, high-profile investors and millions of players from young children to retirees. It is the fastest growing sport in North America, embraced by celebrities from Stephen Colbert and Ellen DeGeneres to Tom Brady.
“I remember going to a local club in Tai Po [in the New Territories],” recalls David Wong, 60, founding member of the Pickleball Elite Association of Hong Kong.
“We booked a court, got ready to play, and the badminton people next to us complained we were dangerous. They said, ‘What if we get hit by the ball or step on it by accident? We could be killed.’”
Death from pickleball is as unlikely as a fatal strike from a badminton birdie. The plastic ball is perforated with holes, like a wiffle ball – which is about the same size as a regulation baseball, but is hollow, lightweight, and made of resilient plastic, so it loses speed quickly.
The hitting paddles are the size of racketball rackets but solid like in table tennis. The court is the same size as a doubles badminton surface but with lines drawn slightly differently. A smaller court and lighter ball means it is less strenuous, with less running. It is easy to see why it appeals.
