From celebrities to septuagenarians, everyone seems to be picking up a paddle. Now, this pro player is pushing to make the sport even more accessible.
Naples, FloridaOn a sweltering August afternoon in the prison yard at Collier Juvenile Detention Center, a young inmate swings a paddle and makes contact. Thwack! A perforated yellow ball soars over a net and high into the air, nearly striking curled barbed wire lining the top of a security fence. It drops well outside of an imaginary baseline. Point for the opposition.
“Don’t hit it too far, bro!” a teammate says as another playfully chases the one who smacked it out of bounds. The rest of the players burst into laughter, and so do the guards.
This scene explains a lot about why the sport of pickleball—a mash-up of tennis, badminton, and ping pong—is catching