Pickleball is becoming the next big sensation in Australia with more venues opening across the state to cope with the demand of new members.
Pickleball is a tactical and fast-paced game that is often described as a mix between tennis, table tennis and badminton and is a tactica
NSW pickleball ambassador Ray Zoccoli said the game was not only a social event, but a strategic sport.
“Croome Road (in Albion Park) has grown from 2 to 36 members, Bulli gone on for a bit longer, Beaten Park taken off, Figtree taken off and Batemans Bay taken off and is going good,” he said.
“It is growing because of the ages, ex tennis players, squash players and badminton players and it’s a sport for all people, even people who don’t want anything to do with contact sport.
“Approaching clubs and councils because there are lots of abandoned tennis courts because tennis isn’t as big, and I want to approach more clubs and venues to promote pickleball indoor and outdoor, so that they can help mum, dad, nan and pop to play sport”.
Pickleball was created in 1965, but started to take off during the covid pandemic in the United States, with the sport now boasting 8.9 million players, according to the Sport and Fitness Industry Association.
Player Vanessa Glasgow took up the sport last month.
“A friend of my work let me know on a Saturday morning at Collegians in Figtree that they have social Pickleball, and a couple of the staff were going down to try it out,” she said.
“I have a tennis background, so I found the game easy to pick up having to have hand eye- coordination and playing a bat and ball sport.
“The scoring is a simple, the bat and ball make it easy in terms of skill level because the ball bounces up and not through, so it slows the play down”.
There are currently 2000 players playing pickleball in the NSW.
With Pickleball slowly gaining popularity not just in Australia but across the world, is Pickleball going to be the next big sport?