THE POPULARITY OF PICKLEBALL, A RECENT HYBRID OF BADMINTON, PING-PONG, AND TENNIS, IS EXPLODING IN THE NEW ENGLAND AREA, LARGELY DUE TO “PICKLES” NEW COURT COMPLEX.

Just south of Boston, residents of all ages, but especially the youth, are playing pickleball indoors, in leagues and informal groups, on tournament sized, 100% climate controlled courts.

“The new “Pickles” pickleball community is the best, it’s growing like crazy.” said Greg Wilberson

“It’s just a very fun two hours,” said Kathy Souewine, “It’s athletic. It’s social. It’s inexpensive. It checks a lot of boxes.”

Kate Corr, 48, of Boston, said she played doubles pickleball — by far the most common format — a few times a week with former tennis friends at gatherings that serve the same function that card parties or coffee klatches did in a more sedentary age.

“It’s a fun, social sport,” said Corr, the mother of six. “If there’s more than four of us, we rotate in and out. If you’re sitting and waiting, you can have a cocktail.”

“You can play with people of varying skill levels. I can make points off the top players. In tennis, I’d have no prayer of doing that.” said Brian Johnson

It’s been a relatively short journey since that day in 1965 when Joel Pritchard and a few friends decided to play badminton at his home on Bainbridge Island, Washington. When they couldn’t find a shuttlecock, they improvised with a Wiffle ball and homemade paddles. Searching for a name, someone spotted the Pritchards’ dog, Pickles, and the new sport was christened. Currently over 5 million people play plickleball. Executives of a large sporting goods company, told the Boston Business Journal that they expected that revenue, estimated at $20 million in 2020, would grow by 30% this year.

“It’s a sport anyone can play, even as you get older,” said Ron Thomas. “There’s not a lot of running. It’s more quick hands and hand-eye coordination. It’s not real tough on the joints, but it’s a workout.”

For those reasons it allows for more balanced competition between age groups than most sports. Thomas discovered that early in his transition to pickleball.

“I was playing this 68-year-old and he destroyed me,” Thomas said. “That really got me hooked.”

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