San Luis Obispo

Pickleball

The History of Pickleball

The game of pickleball started on Bainbridge Island in 1965 and has garnered the attention of many athletes and non-athletes. The game is fairly simple to pick up and good exercise which is appealing to a lot of pickleballers. San Luis Obispo is "all in" on the game and recently built new pickleball courts for the city.

The SLO Country Club was the first to have pickleball courts and has a standing play day every Monday at 4 p.m. Here are some of the dedicated players who love this weird and odd sport we know as pickleball.

The Game

The Game

How is the game of pickleball played? How is it different from tennis? The answers to all of your questions are below...

October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | The Pickleball wave has hit the central coast. San Luis Obispo Country Club members play pickleball every Monday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on court 6 at the club. October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Racquets or paddles? Players use these rounded square paddles to hit the ball. The paddles mimic a ping pong paddle more than a traditional tennis racquet. 
October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Wiffle balls are the official balls used in a game of pickleball. 
October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Tennis member, Heidi Gill, gets ready to serve the first ball of the game. Games are played to 11 points. 
October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Returning the serve can be tough when trying to avoid an area of the court. It is important to be  positioned behind the “kitchen” to avoid losing a point. The kitchen is the front area between the net and the blue line that indicates a dead zone area. “You can’t take a ball out of the air in the kitchen, if you do the point goes to your opponent,” Sarah Kreukel said. 
October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Pickleball can be played with 4 or 6 people total. When playing with one extra player on your side of the court it's called Mortimer. The SLO country club is one of the first to implement this technique, Mortimer, into their Monday play day. 
October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Pickleball requires just as much footwork and movement as tennis. “It’s a quicker more rapid change of direction compared to tennis,” Heidi Gill said. “People are lured in by the smaller court but it’s just an illusion.”
October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Luke Colero picks up the ball after being smashed on by his opponent.
October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Heidi charges the net to reach the ball as the final point of the game is played out. 
October 14, 2019 | San Luis Obispo Country Club | Jean Kennedy’s team wins! After they finish the game they “pickle poke” instead of high five. A pickle poke is when all of the players on the court tap the ends of their paddles together. “Pickleball is all about having fun with everybody and of course winning,” Kennedy said.

Players

Player's Perspectives

Click on the images below to learn about the quirks of the game from the players themselves!

Players

Player's Corner

Pickleball player Sarah Krueckel gives her insight into the rules of pickleball and how it can bring families closer together

The Numbers

The Numbers