Pickleball, Anyone?
Two young people play pickle ball on a court with blue and white lines.
One of the fastest-growing sports in the United States in 2022 is pickleball, but you should know that it has absolutely nothing to do with pickles. (We'll get to the name later.)
Pickleball is a lot like tennis. There's a court with white lines, a ball, and a net, and the point of the game is to hit the ball over the net before it bounces twice on your side of the court. If you don't, that's a fault, as is hitting the ball into or under the net or over the sidelines. Players win and lose points—not to mention games and matches—because of faults.
But pickleball has several features that are all its own. You hit the ball with a paddle instead of a racket, and the ball is plastic and has holes in it. There's also an area on either side of the net called the non-volley zone (NVZ). If your foot—even just a toe—happens to be in the NVZ when you're initiating or returning a volley, that's a fault. The thing is, sometimes you can't stay out of the NVZ because of how fast you're running to hit the ball—and then you're really in a pickle.
The game was invented in the summer of 1965 by U.S. Representative Joel Pritchard. He, his pal Bill Bell, and their families were bored one day. So together with a neighbor, they whipped up a game with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. Pritchard's wife, Joan, came up with the name. She said that the way pickleball combined parts of other sports reminded her of a pickle boat in crew. (In a rowing competition, boaters from different teams who are left out of the main boat race are thrown together in the pickle boat.)
Nearly 60 years later, about 5 million Americans play pickleball regularly in parks, community centers, retirement communities, and as part of leagues. The game is catching on internationally, too. Clearly, pickleball is a sport that people everywhere seem to really, um…relish.
Which of the following sentences expresses the main idea of the article?
A.Pickleball games are competitive, and players win points by hitting the ball over a net before it bounces twice.
B.Pickleball is often played in parks, but it's also played by residents in retirement communities.
C.Pickleball players must steer clear of the non-volley zone, but that can be very difficult at times.
D.Pickleball is a unique sport that combines parts of several sports, and it is growing in popularity.