Pickleball vs. Paddleball vs. Padel
Racquet and paddle sports have remained popular for centuries, but the most popular iterations have largely remained the same. Tennis, badminton, and table tennis/ping pong are such sporting staples that they enjoy widespread attention and prime spots in the Olympic games.
In recent years, alternatives have been forging fresh paths and crafting communities around them. Pickleball, paddleball, and padel are three such sports. At a quick glance, these can look similar, so let’s explore what makes each distinct.
Pickleball
If you live in America, you’ve seen pickleball in one form or another over the past few years. The sport grew in popularity by over 21% from 2019 to 2020, leading to The Economist declaring it the fastest-growing sport in America.
At first glance, it looks like a compromise between tennis and table tennis, but the rules and gameplay are distinct from both. It was created in the mid-1960s, when a group of friends, including Joel Pritchard in Washington, wanted to play a round of badminton but couldn’t find their shuttlecock. Instead, they used a plastic ball and lowered the net, creating a new sport.
A pickleball court is roughly the same size as a badminton court, but the court dimensions are three times as small as a tennis court. The pickleball net touches the ground in a similar manner to a tennis net but is held at a lower height.
Players use solid paddles called pickleball paddles as opposed to racquets. Pickleball balls still closely resemble wiffle balls because they are perforated plastic balls, but pickleball balls are heavier and feature round holes as opposed to oblong holes.
One major difference in pickleball is the inclusion of the non-volley zone - an area referred to as the kitchen - where pickleball players aren’t allowed to hit a volley until the ball has first bounced.
Games can be played in singles or doubles, and the scoring system goes up to 11 points. Pickleball requires less athleticism for beginners and is a family-friendly game.
Pickleball Rules
Official pickleball rules were created by the USA Pickleball Association or USAPA. A game starts when a player on the serving team stands behind the baseline and serves an underhand serve by making contact with the ball below the waist.
The player must serve diagonally across the court, and it must land in the opposite diagonal service box. Both players can serve and score points until a fault is committed. If a point is scored, the servers switch sides, and the same server serves again from their new position. When the first server loses a point, the second server then serves. When the second server loses a point, the other team gets to serve.
Points are scored when the receiving team cannot return the ball to the server’s side of the court within one bounce. When the pickleball is served, the opposite team must let it bounce once before they return it. The serving team must also let the ball bounce once before returning the other team’s return.
After that, players may volley so long as they do not enter the no-volley zone, a marked court area within seven feet of both sides of the net. The game goes to 11 points, and the winning team must win by at least 2 points.
Paddleball
There are multiple games referred to as paddleball, including the one-player children’s toy, which involves a ball attached to a string attached to a paddle. When spoken of in the context of other sports, paddleball usually refers to the sport of paddle tennis. It is also sometimes known as POP tennis.
Unlike Pickleball, paddleball began as an offshoot of tennis. It was first developed in 1915 by an Episcopal minister named Frank Peer Beal. He wanted to create new games for the local children in his neighborhood in lower Manhattan. He convinced city officials to put courts in Greenwich village, and the first tournament took place in 1922. Murray Geller, a player in the 1940s, incorporated the now-standard modern elements, which made the game more appealing to adults.
There are two different types of paddle tennis courts, each corresponding to a different version of the game. One-wall paddleball courts involve two to four players playing against a single wall. These courts are 34’ x 20’ and feature a short line, long line, and service line. The more popular is four-wall paddleball, which features a 40’ x 20’ court in a fully enclosed space, including a 20’ ceiling.
Paddleball Rules
The rules of paddleball are similar to racquetball. The rubber balls are the same, but players use solid wooden paddleball paddles instead of strung racquets, which slows down gameplay and allows matches to last longer. It also makes the game more accessible for less agile players.
The game consists of players alternating striking the ball and hitting the wall. One player serves, hitting the wall before hitting the floor. The other player (or team) must then return the ball to the main wall before it bounces twice on the floor. In four-wall paddleball, the ball can hit any number of other walls throughout the point. When a player or team cannot return a ball, the opposing side wins a point. Games are typically played to 15 points in a best-of-three format.
Padel
Padel is another adaptation of tennis, this time originating in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969. Though it has spread around the world, it is most popular in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. The Padel Pro Tour was created in 2005, and since then, the sport has become more popular. Currently, it is gaining a great deal of traction in the Middle East. It is by far the most popular variation of paddleball.
Like four-wall paddleball, it is played in an enclosed court roughly a third to half the size of a tennis court. A net splits the sides, and players face each other from opposite sides. Players use Padel racquets, which are made of solid ethylene-vinyl-acetate and are perforated with holes. Padel is almost always played as a doubles game. The balls look much like tennis balls but are slightly smaller.
Padel Rules
Like tennis, the object of Padel tennis is to win two out of three sets, which constitutes a match. A team must win six games to win a set. Scoring is identical to tennis, with points for a game going up like this: 15, 30, 40, and game. To win a game or set, a team must be up by two clear points.
Unlike tennis, players serve underhanded. The serve must go into the opposite diagonal service box. A team wins a point when a ball bounces twice on the opposite side, strikes an opposing player, or the other team hits the fencing or another fixture before returning the ball. The primary gameplay difference between padel and tennis is that players can bounce balls off the four surrounding walls instead of just on the ground.
When deciding which type of game suits you best, consider whether you want to play with a partner or alone and what facilities are available. If possible, give them all a try!
What is your favorite: pickleball, paddleball, or padel? Let us know in the comments below!
