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Nina meets the Pickleball stars of the future
Anyone for a spot of pickleball?
No, we're not talking about playing with your food - pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the US at the moment.
If you're not a lover of pickles then don't worry - it doesn't actually involve any pickles.
Around 7,000 people currently play it in the UK and organisers are even trying to get it included in the 2028 Olympics as a demonstration sport.
What is pickleball?
Image source, MediaNewsGroup/Reading Eagle/Getty Images
Image caption,Pickleball is played with a light plastic ball called a wiffle ball
Pickleball is a mash-up of tennis, badminton and ping-pong and can be played by singles or in pairs, either indoors or outside.
The aim of the game is to get the ball over the net and prevent your opponent from hitting it back.
Players use hard paddles a little bigger than ping-pong bats, and a light plastic ball called a wiffle ball to play.
The term kitchen refers to the no-volley zone and dinking is a soft shot that sends the other player scrambling towards the net to reach the ball in time.
Pickleball - essential vocab:
Wiffle ball - The light plastic ball that you play with, full of holes
Paddle - The bat that you play with
Kitchen - The area that you can't volley in - you have to let the ball bounce before you can hit it
Dinking - A soft shot that will end up in front of the opposition's kitchen, so they have to run quickly to save the ball
Oscar hopes to become a Pickleball star in the future - he's already come second in a national championship!
Where did Pickleball get its name?
The game was invented in 1965 by US Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friend Bill Bell during a summer holiday with their families in Washington.
No, they didn't eat a lot of pickles and then play the sport - instead the game was actually named after the family's dog, who was called Pickles.
What do you think of pickleball? Will it catch on here in the UK? Let us know in the comments below!
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Sua marca para o mundo Pickleball! / Your brand for the Pickleball world!
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