Changing the Game

For this North Carolina pair, pickleball is the ticket to a healthy lifestyle - and a social one

- ABBY FRIBUSH

"BEFORE WE started Rally, we found that most people had only heard about pickleball because their great-grandmothers played the game," Barrett Worthington says, laughing. She co-owns Rally, a Charlotte rec-and-social club, with her partner, Meg Charity.

The pastime was first invented in 1965, but it has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years - so much so that it is now the fastest-growing sport in the country. But Worthington and Charity were hooked well before it became a favorite with younger generations. Seven years ago, when they were living in Charlottesville, Virginia, the lifelong athletes launched a website that connected tennis players with coaches, and it evolved from there.