Pickleball

[Johnspex]

Let's see how long before the "comedians" on here come up with juvenile jokes.

Does anybody on here play pickleball? How old are you?

[NaePasaran]

Yes. Mid 30s, male. My local gym installed 2 courts, always seem well used.

[Johnspex]

I've just taken it up at 70.
Never really played any kind of ball sports before, only knocking a tennis ball around and a bit of table tennis.
I tried squash once, bloody hell that's hard work.

[Mick Dastardly]

Me and the missus have been playing pickleball 2-3 times a week for about a year now.

We’re mid 50s and pretty athletic, she’s a very decent tennis player and I played league squash for many years, but our respective skill levels meant that neither of us could give the other a game, and our previous opponents have all faded away into lazy middle age.

Tried pickleball and it’s a revelation as we’re very evenly matched: it’s quick, tactical, nuanced and most importantly, great fun.

Anyone else on here into getting pickled on a regular basis?

[shirt]

Not yet.

We are putting in a racquet sports facility where I work. Tennis, panel and pickleball. I’m going for padel as I know people who play and I can get some practice in with them first.

It’s the first time I’d ever heard of pickleball outside of American tv shows.

[Fore Left]

Yep. 62 & been playing twice a week for about 8 months now. The club runs about a dozen sessions a week over 3 courts and we have players from 30s to 70s at different sessions. The club also plays in a local league that has around 16 teams. I also play padel elsewhere twice a week. Hadn't picked up a racket for 30 years before I started playing pickle but its pretty easy to get half decent at. DItto padel.

[IanUAE]

Not played pickleball but I play padel tennis once or twice a week, outside, all year round. Friday night was brutal with the heat and the humidity.

[anonymous-user]

Is the idea that the ball decelerates fairly quickly and there’s less running around a smaller court? I can see why it would make it a more accessible sport, like e-bikes have opened up leisure cycling.

[PhilAsia]

IanUAE said:

Not played pickleball but I play padel tennis once or twice a week, outside, all year round. Friday night was brutal with the heat and the humidity.

I know the feeling. UAE would not be pleasant. Currently hovering around 100F/38C and 80% humidity just outside Manila. You are in the same boat, but looks like you are over 40C in the next few days - that will be brutal!!

Just looked in "sports" to see if pickleball had got any traction in the UK, as I was curious. It seems slower on the uptake. I was anti at first, being an avid ex-tennis player, but I now play 3 hours twice a week, with one hour teaching MrsPA once a week.

All clubs that I know of opt for a doubles rotation here, but I prefer singles. My tennis partner has buckled and will be playing regularly now, so that will fill that void, and I will probably opt for doubles twice a week with the pretty and elegant partner, and singles twice a week with the grunt.

It really is a great game, that is initially easier to pick up than tennis imho, and, as I am in my sixties, plays less havoc on the body. In my favour, I am probably one of the hardest servers in my area -which helps my points tally - I just wish my eyes and reflexes were younger.

For anyone thinking about it, I would suggest to get out there and give it a go.

[AnotherHamster]

Thread bump.

I have been playing pickleball for the past 18 months and am addicted. It’s the first exercise activity that I have stuck at as an adult for more than a few months.

I play twice a week outdoors at a local tennis club and there is a great core of players who are there most sessions: We average 16-18 players every session playing doubles on rotation.

The tennis players grumble but pickleball is now covering over half the club’s revenue and bringing lots of new members of different ages.

It’s still less well known in the UK but is growing, mostly because it doesn’t require dedicated courts so it’s cheaper and more accessible than padel.

Any other UK players?

[blueg33]

I play badminton at a local club. Some of the older members suggested I try pickleball, they play several times a week.

I found it slow and boring. It’s easy to pick up but after 3 sessions I don’t want to play again. Plus, I hate bats! A racquet needs finesse, hitting the sweet spot, tuning the tension etc. A bat doesn’t even move through the air properly, you can’t generate any real speed.

I’m 60. Can’t see me having any interest in something as slow as pickleball for quite some time