Fun Facts About Pickleball

Quick Answer: Pickleball began in summer 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, when Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum improvised a game on a badminton court. Six decades on, SFIA counted 24.3 million US players in 2025, the fastest recorded legal serve is 70 mph, and Tom Brady and LeBron James hold Major League Pickleball team stakes. Here are 31 verified facts.

Pickleball has a strange name, a congressman for a founder, and a 2026 rulebook that bans volleying inside a 7 foot zone called the kitchen.

Where and When Did Pickleball Begin?

1. The year was 1965. USA Pickleball’s history places the first game in summer 1965, after Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell came home from golf to find their families “sitting around with nothing to do.” The full timeline is in the guide to when pickleball was invented.

1. The place was a Bainbridge Island backyard. The first game happened on an old badminton court at Pritchard’s home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, according to USA Pickleball.

1. A sitting politician co-invented it. Pritchard was already a Washington State legislator in 1965, and he later served six terms in the US House and two terms as Lieutenant Governor of Washington, according to HistoryLink. The guide to who invented pickleball covers all three founders.

1. Barney McCallum shaped the rules. The Pickleball Hall of Fame credits McCallum with introducing the non-volley zone and the two-bounce rule, two features that still define the game under the 2026 rulebook.

1. The name has nothing to do with a dog, officially. Joan Pritchard named the game after the “pickle boat” of college crew races, and USA Pickleball found that the family dog Pickles was born in 1968, three years after the game was named. The long version is in the guide to why it is called pickleball.

1. The first purpose-built court came in 1967. USA Pickleball says it was built at Joel and Joan Pritchard’s home in the Magnolia Bluff neighborhood of Seattle.

1. The company came before the first tournament. Pickle Ball Inc. was incorporated on February 13, 1968, according to HistoryLink, “to develop the game of Pickle Ball and to sell and promote said game in a lawful manner.”

1. The first known tournament was held in 1976. USA Pickleball records it at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington, in the spring of that year.

1. The national body and the first rulebook both date to 1984. The United States Amateur Pickleball Association was organized that year, and the first rulebook was published in March 1984, according to USA Pickleball.

1. Pickleball is the official state sport of Washington. Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5615 on March 28, 2022, on Bainbridge Island, and joked that citizens hold the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of pickleball,” as reported by The Spokesman-Review.

What Did the First Courts and Equipment Look Like?

1. The net came down from badminton height. USA Pickleball’s history says the founders dropped the net from badminton’s 60 inches to 36 inches after seeing how well the perforated plastic ball bounced on asphalt.

1. The first purpose-made paddles were plywood from a home wood shop. The Pickleball Hall of Fame says the earliest paddles were cut in McCallum’s home wood shop, and the first mass-produced Diller paddles were plywood too.

1. A pickleball court is the size of a doubles badminton court, to within half an inch. Pickleheads lists the court at 20 feet by 44 feet, the same footprint as a doubles badminton court, and notes that four pickleball courts fit inside one tennis court.

1. The net is not level. It measures 36 inches at the posts and 34 inches at the center, according to Pickleheads.

1. A legal ball has between 26 and 40 holes. The USA Pickleball Equipment Standards Manual dated January 2025 requires 26 to 40 circular holes, a diameter of 2.87 to 2.97 inches, and a weight of 0.78 to 0.935 ounces.

1. Paddles have a size cap but no weight cap. Under the same manual, a paddle’s combined length and width cannot exceed 24 inches and its length cannot exceed 17 inches, yet there is no restriction on thickness or weight.

How Fast Has Pickleball Grown?

1. 24.3 million Americans played in 2025. SFIA’s 2026 Pickleball Single Sport Report puts US participation at 24.3 million, up from 4.2 million in 2020, and SFIA has called pickleball the fastest growing sport for five consecutive years. The guide to how many people play pickleball in the US breaks the numbers down.

1. Core players jumped from 1.4 million in 2020 to 7.5 million in 2025. SFIA defines core participants as people who play eight or more times a year.

1. Teens and young adults now post the highest participation rates of any age group. SFIA reports that ages 13 to 24 lead all age segments, and women made up 42.9 percent of players in 2025, up from 38.6 percent in 2020.

1. The official court finder lists more than 25,000 places to play. Pickleheads, named USA Pickleball’s official court and game finder in April 2024 according to SFIA, lists over 25,000 places to play as of September 2026, up from nearly 14,000 US facilities at the announcement.

Which Rules Surprise New Players?

1. Only the serving team can score in traditional scoring. USA Pickleball’s rules summary states that points are scored only by the serving team, and games are normally played to 11, win by 2, under the 2026 rulebook.

1. The first server in a doubles game is called “2.” A doubles game opens at 0-0-2 under the 2026 rulebook, so the starting team gets only one server before losing the serve, according to the USA Pickleball rules summary.

1. Volleying is banned in a 7 foot zone. The non-volley zone runs 7 feet from the net on both sides, per USA Pickleball’s rules summary, and the 2026 rulebook forbids volleying from it. The nickname is explained in the guide to why it is called the kitchen in pickleball.

1. The 2026 rulebook spells out that spin on the serve is legal at paddle contact. The 2026 USA Pickleball rulebook change document allows spin at paddle contact while still prohibiting manipulation of the ball during the release. The 2026 changes also deleted the definition of “cross-court” and added wheelchair rules allowing two bounces. More oddities are collected in the roundup of weird pickleball rules.

What Are the Strangest Pickleball Records?

1. The fastest legal serve on record by a male player is 70 mph. Guinness World Records credits Zane Navratil with a 70 mph serve on September 13, 2024, in Austin, Texas.

1. Two players once played singles for 28 hours straight. Guinness lists Brad Haverkamp and Caleb Dang’s marathon on November 22 to 23, 2025, in Byron Center, Michigan.

1. The oldest recorded female competitor was 95. Guinness recognized Joyce Jones as the oldest female pickleball player at 95 years and 197 days at the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, on October 18, 2025.

Who Plays Pickleball at the Top Level?

1. Anna Leigh Waters turned professional at 12. Guinness World Records lists her as the youngest female pro at 12 years and 26 days at the Florida Grand Slam on February 21, 2019, where she won women’s doubles gold with her mother.

1. Ben Johns has won 120 PPA Tour gold medals. The PPA Tour’s athlete page credits Johns with 120 golds, 21 triple crowns, and a 108 match singles winning streak, and calls that gold total the most in tour history.

1. The US Open started with about 800 players and now draws 3,750. Wikipedia records close to 800 participants at the 2016 debut in Naples, Florida. The event’s own site reports 3,750 players from 53 countries and more than 55,000 spectators in 2026.

1. Tom Brady, Kim Clijsters, and LeBron James all own pieces of Major League Pickleball. CNBC reported in October 2022 that Brady and Clijsters headlined an expansion ownership group as the league grew from 12 to 16 teams, joining LeBron James, Draymond Green, Kevin Love, and Drew Brees. Bill Gates has played for more than 50 years because his father was friends with the founders, and he wrote in 2022: “I don’t think anyone expected it would ever become a national phenomenon.” The collection of pickleball quotes gathers more lines like that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who invented pickleball? Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum created the game in summer 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, according to USA Pickleball.

Why is it called pickleball? Joan Pritchard named it after the “pickle boat” in crew racing, according to USA Pickleball; see fact 5.

How big is a pickleball court? A pickleball court is 20 feet by 44 feet, the same size as a doubles badminton court, according to Pickleheads. Four of them fit inside one tennis court.

How many people play pickleball? SFIA’s 2026 report counts 24.3 million US players in 2025, up from 4.2 million in 2020.

What is the two-bounce rule? Under the 2026 rulebook, the receiving team must let the serve bounce, then the serving team must let the return bounce, before either side can volley, per USA Pickleball’s rules summary.

How many holes does a pickleball have? The USA Pickleball Equipment Standards Manual dated January 2025 requires between 26 and 40 circular holes.

What is the fastest pickleball serve ever recorded? Guinness World Records lists Zane Navratil’s 70 mph serve from September 13, 2024, in Austin, Texas, as the fastest legal serve by a male player.

Is pickleball an official state sport anywhere? Yes. Washington made pickleball its official state sport when Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5615 on March 28, 2022, as reported by The Spokesman-Review.

Every one of these facts traces back to a borrowed badminton court. The public pickleball courts directory lists courts by city with hours, surface, and drop-in details.

Written by the Pickler Junction Team.