Play (Pickle) Ball!

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

- Karen Robock

UNTIL RECENTLY, no one had heard of this game with the crazy name. Last year in the United States, nearly 5 million people played the friendly racquet sport on courts around the country. There's even a major league for pickleball, MLP for short, with pro athletes Tom Brady, Kim Clijsters and LeBron James counted among the team owners. The International Federation of Pickleball, with 60 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've probably 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 programs 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.