May 26, 2026

Not In A Pickle

I recenly watched for a short time a , if not professional, still very serious, pickleball match (tournament). Some observations.

It’s a hybrid of tennis, baseball, volleyball. and ping pong.

There are no swift footed ball boys/girls. Players have to run after their own stray balls. Kind of humiliating.

Players can wear anything they want. They don’t need deep pockets because they don’t carry spare balls like in tennis. They use the same ball for the whole game. Doesn’t it get marked up in any way? Baseball players change balls when it gets the least bit dirty.

No protective gear. This is because they never have to exert themselves so vigorously that they might fall down. As far as I could tell, they NEVER fall down.

In other sports, when players want to congratulate team mates, they give high fives, smack each other on the butt or fist bump. In pickleball, they give high paddle hits, or bump paddles or hit each other with their paddles ,with affection, of course. I think it stems from the fact that the paddle seems to be permanently attached to their hand.

And so a new term has been invented by members of the most derivative sport yet. The “Pickleball Paddle Pat” Okay. Good. More power to you.