When walking into Target, most people first look at the dollar section. Target recently released their pickleball collection which has been flying off the shelves. Pickleball has been a rising craze since the summer of 2020. With its health benefits and wide age range that can play, it is the perfect game for all types of people. In case you have been living under a rock pickleball is a racquet sport that combines tennis, badminton, and ping pong all in one. According to USA Pickleball, “Pickleball is played either as doubles (two players per team) or singles (one player); doubles being the most common way to play. The same size playing area and rules are used for both singles and doubles. Points are scored only by the serving team. Games are normally played to 11 points, win by 2. Tournament games may be to 15 or 21, win by 2. When the serving team’s score is even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) the player who was the first server in the game for that team will be in the right/even court when serving or receiving. When odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) that player will be in the left/odd court when serving or receiving. When the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning, and then the serving team must let it bounce before returning. After the ball has bounced once in each team’s court, both teams may either volley the ball (hit the ball before it bounces) or play it off a bounce (ground stroke)”. The sport gained popularity during the pandemic as a way to get some fresh air and exercise. In 2022, the number of players nearly doubled to 8.9 million in the US, pushing past other sports and now sitting behind tennis which has around 23.6 million players. This huge increase in the sport made companies scramble to create products to fill the high demand. It’s also helpful that the game can be played by anyone, athletic or not. Pickleball can now be found anywhere and everywhere, even in schools during gym classes.
