Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two players (singles) or four players (doubles) hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball with paddles over a 34-inch-high (0.86 m) net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played indoors and outdoors. It was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States, on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. In 2022, pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.
Pickleball
Aerial view of six pickleball courts in The Villages, Florida in 2016, with two tennis courts in the background
A pickleball paddle with one 26–hole pickleball (left) and one 40–hole pickleball (right)
Outdoor pickle-ball court in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 2023
Bainbridge Island, Washington
Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 24,825 at the 2020 census, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County.
Washington State Ferries ferry landing on Bainbridge Island
A group of Japanese-American residents of Bainbridge Island wave the American flag and give the victory sign as they are forcibly sent to an internment camp, March 30, 1942.
Aerial view of the northern part of Bainbridge Island adjoining Puget Sound, with Agate Passage in center, Liberty Bay on the Kitsap Peninsula in the background, and the Hood Canal beyond
Aerial view of Bainbridge Island from the southeast, showing the Bainbridge Island ferry from Seattle making the first of two turns to bring it into Eagle Harbor, with Blakely Harbor to its left
