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Lifestyle
Josh Woods

Pickleball’s climb to mainstream success

Jorja Johnson of the Hard Eights holds her Franklin paddle during the Major League Pickleball finals match against BLQK at Pickle & Chill on October 16, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Most newer sports are hybrids of older ones, and pickleball is no exception. The progeny of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, pickleball is played by singles or doubles teams who hit a ball back and forth over a 3-foot-high net until one opponent commits a fault.

In 1965, the inventors of pickleball played with what they had – a repurposed badminton setup, ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball.

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