Why Play Pickleball Over Tennis?

The advantages of the smaller court size are many, 1) you can have four times the people playing and getting exercise in a much smaller space. Since most Pickleball is played as doubles 16 people can play in the same space that a maximum of 4 tennis players would otherwise occupy. 2) Indoor play is much more likely if the space required is smaller. Pickleball courts can be set up in a variety of places like gymnasiums, recreation rooms, auditoriums and churches using a portable net and some masking tape. 3) There is less area to cover during play. Many of the Pickleball players are in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and even in their 80’s. Coupling doubles play with the smaller court size means the area a person needs to cover is much less daunting than in Tennis. 4) Temporary outdoor courts can be set up (again with a portable net and some masking tape) in a driveway or culde-sac or permanent courts can be installed in a backyard as the space required (allowing room outside the court to chase down balls) is only about 60’X30’.

Social: Pickleball tends to be somewhat different than Tennis. Most Tennis is organized by “setting up a game” 2 or 4 players set up the game and the time, meet there and play with the people they originally contacted with not much “drop in” play. Pickleball on the other hand is much more often just a “drop in” game. Some competitive Pickleball players will set up a game with comparable skill level players and play with those players exclusively and that is fine. However the vast majority of Pickleball is played at a set time, place and day and people just show up and play with whoever is there that day. At one of the Pickleball facilities in our area for example it is known in the Pickleball community that Monday and Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 or so if you want to play just show up with your paddle and ball and you will usually be able to play all the games you care to. In most areas there will be several times and days like that so you can usually find a time that fits your schedule. There will always be several skill levels at these “drop in” games and while that might not seem like the ideal situation because some games potentially would end up very lopsided. What usually happens is when 4 people enter the court to play a “drop in” game the strongest player (they usually know the skill level of the rest of the players that are there) will voluntarily take as their partner the player with the lowest skill level thus making the game much more even and fun. In addition to that the 2 mid level players on the other side of the net don’t typically “pick on” the weaker player and freeze out the stronger player. Socially the Pickleball community is out there for the exercise and the social aspects of the game. Wins and losses while are certainly noticed aren’t usually the main objective. Pickleball also seems to travel well. By that I mean if you are in a strange town and are looking for a little exercise and a whole lot of fun find a Pickleball court somewhere and jump in. A google search of Pickleball in the area will usually produce something to point you in the right direction. Given the nature of the Pickleball drop in style you can usually get into a game (or several) and at the same time meet some local people that can tell you about good local restaurants or things to do while you are in town. Who knows maybe you might make a friend or two?

Economy: Pickleball is a relatively inexpensive sport. Once you purchase a paddle and some balls for the most part you are good to go. Like anything you can spend quite a bit on a high end paddle (in the $200 range) and you can buy a portable net (anywhere from $150 to $400) but realistically you can get started with a $30 paddle and some balls (some of the balls (like the Onix Pure 2) seem to last forever!) and see where you go with it. As you progress in the game you may want to upgrade your paddle but that is optional. I play with several people that play with first paddle they bought and are fine with it. Most Pickleball is played outdoors at city parks on converted Tennis courts or current Tennis courts with Pickleball lines painted on them in addition to the Tennis lines. In those cases a temporary net is used for Pickleball. Let me make a comment about temporary Pickleball nets. While temporary nets aren’t quite as nice as permanent nets they are pretty close. They are very stable and the ball reacts much the same when it hits the top of the net (some are slightly better than others) as it does on a permanent net. If your area uses temporary nets exclusively don’t worry about it, they are fine. There are some outdoor Pickleball clubs that have yearly dues or “drop in” fees but they are usually pretty reasonable considering the quality of the facility and the availability of other people to play with. Indoor facilities, while some are no cost or very low cost because they are housed in some sort of city, county or non profit facility. They can sometimes be a little more expensive to play at given the fact that they are in some sort of a building and buildings aren’t typically free. You can spend a little money playing at those places and as I said they are usually worth it (especially in the snowy or rainy winter months) but there are usually plenty of places to play for free.

Health: Health is probably the best reason to play Pickleball (and Tennis too for that matter if your body can handle it) Getting out and doing a little running around is pretty much always a good thing. Pickleball is definitely less of a strain on your knees and ankles because of the smaller court dimensions and the fact that most Pickleball points usually require the participants to move either side to side or up and back just a few steps and not get into a dead run then need to stop and change direction quickly. There are exceptions to that of course but for the most part that is the case. I personally quit Tennis many years ago because of a shoulder issue that caused me problems when I served or hit an overhead. The weight of the racquet seemed to be the problem so I was forced to quit and didn’t find a replacement until I found Pickleball many years later. When I first started Pickleball I was afraid I was going to have the same issues with overhead shots (in Pickleball you serve underhanded so I knew that wasn’t going to be a problem) but that didn’t turn out to be a problem as the paddle usually only weighs 8 to 10 ounces and they aren’t very long so you don’t get that “whip” effect of the longer racquet. Everyone has heard of Tennis elbow, I know several people that have it and most but not all seem to have less pain playing Pickleball as opposed to Tennis. I’m guessing for the same reason as stated above?

Summary: Pickleball is an awesome game, if you haven’t tried it you should. If you are young and fit maybe Tennis is still the game for you, but given all the points above Pickleball is a fast growing game. It is one of the fastest growing games in the world according to NBC. Pickleball is very easy to learn (although the scoring system might seem a little odd at first) It is best if you have decent hand eye coordination but you can get away without a lot of mobility. Some of the best Pickleball players are ex (sometimes still) Tennis players. The skill set seems to translate well to Pickleball, the arm swing stroke seems to be slightly more consistent than a shot that uses more wrist (like racquetball) but both work.

So those are my reasons to either start playing or continue to play if you already do. Maybe someday We will cross paths on a Pickleball court somewhere in the world? Play well and enjoy the game!