What Is Pickleball And Why Are Indians Suddenly Hating On It?
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Pickleball, a sport that combines tennis, table tennis, and badminton, has found a sudden rise in traction and gained online popularity on the Indian social media.
Is it badminton? Is it tennis? Is it table tennis? Oh, it's pickleball! If you haven't been online recently, let us introduce you to pickleball. The sport has been gaining traction and popularity on Indian social media, though not always for flattering reasons. For one, netizens biased towards traditional tennis and badminton are having a hard time accepting that pickleball is a real sport.
But why?
Pickleball
The game originated in 1965 in a home's backyard when Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum decided to entertain their families by improvising a game using ping-pong paddles, a plastic ball, and a badminton court with a lowered net. As the game slowly but surely gained popularity, it was accepted and formalised by the USA Pickleball Association in 1984.
The refined, non-improvised version of pickleball that we see today isn't far from what its originators had put together to make their boring day an entertaining one.
The widely played sport uses a cocktail of three global sports: tennis, table tennis, and badminton. Armed with a wooden (or composite material) paddle, the player smacks a perforated ball across a low net. The game aims to make rules 'less strict" for players. For one, the ball has to bounce once on each side of the court before volleying it. The court, which is the size of a badminton court, also has a non-volley zone near the net to avoid aggressive smashes.
janta, there have been viral reels on Instagram showcasing the pickleball courts that have come up in the Delhi-NCR area and an hour of play, as claimed by some, could set you back by as much as Rs 800.
What we can say with certainty is that the search for pickleball is in its peak era compared to the previous five years on Google Trends in India.
Google Trends
'After seeing this up close I hereby declare pickleball is an absolute joke of a sport. The ball is no speed, no bounce, the paddle has no power. Playing catch catch with a toddler is more testing, (sic)" a user on X wrote.
After seeing this up close I hereby declare pickleball is an absolute joke of a sport. The ball is no speed, no bounce, the paddle has no power. Playing catch catch with a toddler is more testing. pic.twitter.com/eXZS6yEPi9 — Aman (@AmanHasNoName_2) June 26, 2025
'pickleball is the matcha of sports," wrote another user who goes by the handle @avgspacelover on social media platform 'X'.
'I've played tennis, badminton, and squash for years. Then I played Pickleball a few weeks ago. I have no idea how this is even a real sport. It requires almost no physical fitness or agility. I was dominating without even playing it before," user @LifeMathMoney reviewed the game after trying it for the first time.
Do we have the trend's origin?
'Pickleball slander on TL? Apparently some fellas in Bengaluru are playing it for 'networking purposes"," quipped @ugach_kahitarii.
Something is better than nothing.
Hey, at least you are off your couch and being active.
'pickleball is actually very cool because it is fun to play, and has gotten thousands of people off their couches. people hating on a fun little game are either pseudo-purists of another equally stupid but more challenging racket sport or just contrarians without a cause, (sic)" came @paarugsethi in sport's defense.
'People hating on pickleball bcz it is an easy sport don't realise that at least some people have started doing physical activity bcz of this.
People in 30s, 40s and 50s playing again bcz of availability and ease of playing. Something is better than nothing! (sic)"
'Reminder for haters: Old person's sport aka Pickleball burns more calories and keeps you fitter than being a keyboard warrior. Pickleball is slow. Yeah try playing low and see if your back and quads don't get a pull," chimed in another.
Indian Celebrities Spotted
The popular Indian couple Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma were spotted in May playing pickleball.
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma playing pickleball. 😄 pic.twitter.com/3gMTlroIXP — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 21, 2025
Are you planning to try pickleball, or will the purist in you join the social media criticism of the sport?
About the Author
Anurag Verma
Anurag Verma, News Editor at News18.com, works independently for the Viral section. Bollywood, Cricket, Science, Tech, YouTube, Reddit, Meme Origins and everything Pop-culture are his forte. He covers humourous...Read More
News18's viral page features trending stories, videos, and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!
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New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
June 28, 2025, 12:01 IST
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