Play (Pickle) Ball!

How to get in on the game—if you haven't already

- BY Karen Robock

UNTIL RECENTLY, no one had heard of this game with the crazy name.

As of February this year, pickleball has more than five million players across 84 countries. Over 50,000 people in India played the game in 2024 and at the time there were over 500 courts throughout the country. Currently, there are an estimated five lakh active players in India according to the All India Pickleball Association. The International Federation of Pickleball, with 77 member countries and counting, is working to make sure pickleball will be part of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

If you haven't played it yourself, you must have at least heard of pickleball. Here's how the game is played.

"Pickleball takes components from tennis, badminton and table tennis," says Hope Tolley, managing director of recreational programmes for USA Pickleball. It's played on a badminton-sized court with a slightly lowered tennis net, using square paddles and a small perforated plastic ball that's similar in size to a tennis ball, but much lighter. Since the lighter ball doesn't bounce as much, it's easier to get a rally going.