Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports. It has come a long way since its innovative creation. So, when and where was pickleball invented?

Like all other sports, pickleball also comes with a history. The beauty of pickleball lies in its humble beginning, where most of the equipment was handmade, and the game's purpose was to allow a family to enjoy time together.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, Washington, by three fathers who wanted to keep their families entertained, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum. It was improvised from other racket sports and quickly spread across Washington and neighboring states.

There is something about racket sports that attracts attention. The skill of using a paddle to guide a ball into a bordered area comes with a thrill, which is one of the many reasons for the popularity of pickleball.

Experienced pickleball players believe that the founders of pickleball worked hard to grow awareness regarding the sport. Pickleball also became popular due to the ease of the game. Once you know the basic rules, you can play quite well after only a few minutes on the court. You can be of any age and any level of athleticism to enjoy a good game of pickleball.

1965: The Game Begins

Joel and Joan Pritchard were residents of Seattle and often moved to their home in Bainbridge Island in Washington to spend their summers there. During their summer excursion to Bainbridge in 1965, the Pritchards invited their friends Tina and Bill Bell to live with them at their estate.

One day, when Joel and Bill returned from a beautiful golf session, the story has it that they found Frank, Joel's 13-year-old son, in a frustrated mood. He was bored out of his skin and did not have anything to do to keep himself occupied.

Frank still recalls the incident saying, "I remember nagging my father about having nothing to do whenever we came to Bainbridge." Joel replied that when they were kids and got bored, they would make up new games. Frank says the next thing that blurted out of his mouth was, "Well then, why don't you make a game up for me then?"

Joel Pritchard, being a sportsperson, always loved challenges. He took Bill and went to the backyard, which happened to have a badminton court measuring 44 feet x 20 feet. The court was created by Joel's parents. It had to be paved because of the continuous rain in the area.

When they reached the court, they decided to play badminton. However, when Joel and Bill walked to the back shed, they could not find any badminton rackets or birdies to play. Instead, they pulled a Wiffle ball out of a plastic bat and ball set that Frank had received for his birthday earlier during the year. They also found a couple of table tennis paddles, put up a badminton net, and used the ball to play a game with whatever they had.

They initially planned to play badminton using the Wiffle ball and the paddles. The game did not go on for too long because the old and worn-out paddles began falling apart. However, the two men were not about to let a few broken paddles get in the way of their game. They proceeded to Joel's garage and tried to mend the paddles. The result was some awkward-looking, oar-shaped paddles that were oddly shaped and uneven.  

Franks remembers his dad saying, "I bet Barney can get this thing done right." Barney McCallum lived a few houses down the street from the Pritchards and was very good at DIY projects. They called Barney over. He was very intrigued with the game and was able to design and create bigger and better-looking paddles.

Since they were initially planning to play badminton, the game started with the four players volleying the ball back and forth over the 60-inch-high net. But as the game progressed, they noticed that the ball was bouncing quite well on the asphalt surface.

As time progressed, they decided to lower the net down to 36 inches. Soon enough, the three men found themselves sitting down and devising rules for the game, which leaned heavily on badminton. However, they kept in mind the original purpose of the game, which was to make a game that every family member could play and enjoy. They did not want the game to challenge anyone's physical abilities or test their athleticism too much.

By the fall of 1965, Barney McCallum had redesigned the paddles and developed his own M1 and M2 paddles. They were the first official pickleball paddles that Barney had created in his basement using his bandsaw. The M2 design of the paddle has still carried on and continues to be used today.

The Kitchen Rule

As the year progressed into winter, so did their additions to the game. Bill and Barney experimented with different balls to check which one worked best. To prevent players from smashing the ball too hard into their opponent's court, they came up with the idea of the no-volley zone. The players were not allowed to enter the no-volley zone when playing a ball before it bounced. If their accessories such as a hat, sunglasses, or even as much as a Chapstick fell in the zone, and they played a volley, it would be a fault.

The initial no volley line was only one foot from the net. Bill and Barney experimented by increasing the distance of the line from the net at six-inch intervals until they arrived at the optimal distance of seven feet, which we know today. The no volley zone is the area behind the net in which you cannot hit a volley, and the ball must bounce before it is struck if you are in the non-volley zone.

The Double Bounce Rule

As winter went by, there was one rule left to be defined, the double bounce rule. The three creators of the game ensured that this unique rule was implemented correctly. For most racket sports, the serving team usually has an advantage. But with the double bounce rule in pickleball, that advantage gets mitigated. The rule stated that the ball must bounce on the court twice before either team can hit a volley.

The double-bounce rule and the no volley zone are two crucial factors that significantly separate pickleball from other racket sports. These two rules ensure that the game is well-balanced and ensure a level playing field for all players. Thanks to them, athletic, young, and physically well-built players could not dominate physically weaker players during the game.

1967 – 1970: The Game Develops

The game began to grow in popularity as friends of the founders came to know about it and often came over to play the game. As the number of players grew, everyone wanted a paddle of their own. Who better to ask than the handyman himself, Barney McCallum? It was not long before McCallum was manufacturing and selling paddles to friends of friends and other people who came to know of the game.

With the increased popularity and several friends coming in to play, the trio discovered the social aspect of the game. While four people played, others had the opportunity to catch up on the latest from one another. This trend carries on until today, where many players come together with their friends and enjoy a friendly pickleball match. The social aspect of the game is one of its key attractions, and hardly any other sport provides such a level of social acceptance.

The First Official Court

With the popularity of pickleball growing in the neighborhood, one of Pritchard's neighbors, Bob O'Brien, decided to build a proper pickleball court in his backyard. The court was designed and marked solely for pickleball and was not a makeshift from other racket sports.

But, didn't they have a court in the Pritchards' backyard in their estate on Bainbridge Island?

Yes, and as discussed above, it was a makeshift court transformed from what originally used to be a badminton court. The court had impeding branches, and trees nearby, which could give the players an undue advantage or disadvantage depending on which side of the court they were playing. It was suitable for casual games, practice, and perfecting the rules, but pickleball desperately needed an official court.

Bob's court quickly became very popular, and it did not have any annoying branches obstructing the game or trees blocking the view. It allowed the players to swing freely and push themselves to their maximum limit.

Court Number Three

Three years after the invention of pickleball, the handyman Barney McCallum decided to build a court in his backyard as well. This court, known as court number 3 by close friends, quickly became famous around Bainbridge as "The McCallum Court."

The game was growing. It was addictive, and anyone who tried it fell in love with it. But, one thing that concerned everyone was that all three courts of the game were on an island. What would happen to the game when the three families left these homes and moved back to Seattle? Will they just let the game fade away and become an occasional summer activity?

Little did everyone know that Joel and his handyman Barney had plans to take the game from the island, into homes in Seattle, and even beyond.

Moving Out of Bainbridge

During the early 1970s, the game made its first hop out of Bainbridge Island and into mainland Seattle. Barney McCallum started to spread the word about pickleball around his neighborhood in Magnolia Bluff in Seattle. He also persuaded the neighbors to learn and play the game. His efforts did not go in vain. Several people from his hometown would gather and play pickleball on temporary courts on various neighborhood streets.

 A little while later, one of Barney's neighbors planned to do some landscaping work. But by persuasion from Barney, he decided to skip landscaping and use the land to build a pickleball court. The first concrete-based pickleball court was created outside of Bainbridge!

Joel Pritchard was running for congress at this time. He often set up a pickleball court at his political fundraisers and encouraged and guided the people attending to go on a little doubles game. These political fundraisers gave the game a lot of exposure to the general public.

Many people believe that the social aspect of the game is what attracted most people during the early years of pickleball. The people enjoyed meeting each other and having fun. This feeling of inclusivity quickly spread throughout the neighborhood and even into schools.

Moving Out Of Seattle

Later during the year, Barney, along with his son, began to spread the word of pickleball beyond Seattle. They visited numerous schools to demonstrate and teach pickleball at school programs. The demonstrations were well-received by school administrations. Soon enough, pickleball was being played at numerous schools around Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Missouri, Texas, California, and even in midwestern states such as Illinois.

Barney, the handyman, was now manufacturing and selling pickleball starter kits, and they were selling like hot cake. Funds were pouring in, and to manage production and finance, Barney McCallum established an organization called Pickleball Inc., which exists until today. Even today, the company offers pickleball equipment, and its website has a complete guide on how to play pickleball.

1975 - 1985: America's Newest Racket Sport

The late 1970s saw pickleball transform from a backyard hobby to a full-fledged sport played all around the country. In 1975, the National Observer published an article on pickleball that put the game under the spotlight. In 1976, the renowned sports magazine, Tennis, published a piece on pickleball titled "America's newest racket sport."

This is where the real boost to popularity came in. Pickleball grabbed the attention of several news outlets and magazines. The game was all over the national media. Press conferences, interviews, and other forms of press coverage were pouring in.

The first pickleball tournament was also held in 1976 in Tukwila, Washington. David Lester won the tournament, and Steve Paranto won the runners-up. Nearly all the tournament players were tennis players who applied and tested their skills in the new sport.

Pickleball continued to gain popularity throughout the following years.

United States of America Pickleball Association (USAPA)

In 1984, USAPA was established with a defined objective of perpetuating the advancement and growth of pickleball at a national level. The association proceeded to compile and launch the official Pickleball rulebook the same year it was established. Sid Williams headed the organization until 1998.

Advanced Paddles

Until the 80s, pickleball was played using wooden paddles, initially designed by Barney McCallum. However, in 1984, ArienParanto decided to add innovation to the paddles. He was an industrial engineer at Boeing and knew a lot about composite materials. It so happened that he was also a huge fan of pickleball.

Arien developed the first composite pickleball paddles using the fiberglass material found in the structural systems of planes. These paddles were lighter, more durable, and provided a better feel to the players.

Arien only manufactured one thousand composite paddles before selling the company to Frank Candelario, who became the president of USAPA from 1998 to 2004.

1990 – the 2000s: Going National Officially

Pickleball was prevalent in all 50 states by the 1990s. Pickleball courts became more widespread at fitness and community centers. The sport saw a rise in popularity among senior players, who preferred the low-impact activity over more demanding sports such as tennis. Pickleball developed into a common household name across the United States throughout the 1990s.

 The popularity of pickleball continued to grow throughout the 2000s as well. In 2008, USAPA published the official rulebook for pickleball tournaments. The following year, in 2009, the first national pickleball tournament was held in Arizona. The tournament allowed people of all ages to participate.

Donald Paschal won gold in the men's singles tournament, and the runner-up, Erik Gertler, got a silver medal. Donald Paschal and Dan Gabanek secured the gold medal for men's doubles, while Tim Brett Raymond and Tim Hatzenbeler won silver.

For women's singles, Vicki Foster grabbed the gold medal, and for women's doubles, Susan Berkens and Diane Shanklin won first place.

2010 – Present: The Fastest Growing Sport

Throughout the 2010s, pickleball continued to gain popularity. In 2015, the game was named the fastest-growing sport in the USA by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. In 2016, USAPA officially launched the first pickleball Juniors program. It attracted players aged between 7 and 19.

The surge in popularity has attracted more than 4.8 million players to the sport from around the globe.