Pickleball
Pickleball is a different paddle sport sometimes confused with padel. It is played on a 13.4 by 6.1 metre court with a perforated plastic ball and solid paddles - smaller court, lighter ball, no walls. Pickleball originated in the US in 1965 and is the fastest-growing sport in the US, while padel is the fastest-growing globally.
What is pickleball?
Pickleball is a paddle sport played on a 13.4 by 6.1 metre court (smaller than a tennis court but slightly larger than a badminton court) using solid paddles and a perforated plastic ball. The sport originated in the US in 1965 and has grown rapidly since 2020, now claiming the title of fastest-growing sport in the US. Pickleball is unrelated to padel despite the visual similarity.
How it differs from padel
Three big differences. First, no walls - pickleball has no enclosed court and no wall play. Second, different ball - pickleball uses a perforated plastic ball that bounces lower and slower than padel’s pressurised rubber ball. Third, different paddles - pickleball paddles are unperforated and solid, generally smaller and lighter than padel rackets. Tactically, pickleball is more like ping-pong scaled up; padel is more like tennis scaled down with walls added.
Where each sport dominates
Pickleball is overwhelmingly an American phenomenon - over 14 million US players as of 2024. Padel is global, with strongholds in Spain (Europe’s number one), Argentina, the UAE, Italy, the UK and Indonesia. Outside the US, padel is the much larger and faster-growing sport; inside the US, pickleball is larger by orders of magnitude.
Coach tip: If you have played pickleball and are trying padel for the first time, expect a longer learning curve. The paddle motion is heavier, the ball bounces higher, and the walls add a strategic dimension pickleball does not have. Most pickleball-to-padel crossovers take three to six months to feel comfortable in padel.
Common mistakes
Treating pickleball and padel as interchangeable is the most common misunderstanding outside the sport. They share visual similarity but have completely different equipment, tactics, court geometry and skill demands. A pickleball player needs the same beginner training as any other newcomer to padel.
