Pickleball versus tennis, which one is better? What are the differences? Since pickleball has gotten more popular in the past few years everyone is raving about how much fun it is. It also seems as pickleball has gotten more popular tennis has gone down in popularity. I have heard some people say that they will never pick up a racket again and that pickleball can be picked up by anyone and that your age doesn’t matter.
Pickleball and tennis have really big differences. Pickleball was invented in the summer of 1965, but just now has blown up. Tennis was invented in 1874 and has consistently been played since then. Pickleball has a much smaller court making it more equipped for the older generations to enjoy the game as well. Tennis though has a much bigger court that you have to get across to reach the ball. This is how they show differences right off the bat.
What are the different areas in the pickleball court? If you start to play pickleball you will notice that a common phrase is “Stay out of the kitchen”! Pickleball has a “kitchen” which you are not allowed to stand in until the ball bounces on your side, then you are free to stand in the kitchen for as long as the ball is on your side. If you were allowed to stand in the kitchen before the ball bounces then it would be way too easy to get “smash” hits against the other team. A smash hit is a super aggressive hit over the net on the other team’s side to score a point. Tennis does not have a kitchen, a tennis court is set up much differently.
Tennis courts are set up much differently than a pickleball court. A tennis court is 78 feet in length and 36 feet in width, although when playing singles the width is only 27 feet. The baseline in both tennis and pickleball are where you serve. The two front boxes close to the net are called the service boxes. When serving you are trying to aim for the service box opposite of you on the other team’s side, this will depend on which side you are serving from. The big box behind both of the service boxes is called the “backcourt”. These are the different parts of a tennis court.
These sports might be really different but they also have some similarities. When you look at a pickleball court you would notice that it looks really similar to a tennis court. For both sports you use a racket and a ball. Tennis and pickleball can provide health benefits. Tennis balls and pickleballs are both typically yellow, but you can get different colors of both, they are also relatively the same size. These are some really basic similarities between the sports.
In all, tennis and pickleball have some really big differences and similarities. Since pickleball is the new rave I decided to teach you a little bit about the sport. Even though the interest in tennis is decreasing in popularity it has been around for all these years. You can go pick up a racket or a paddle with all of your new knowledge on the sport. Both of these sports are liked by many people so go try them out!
Work Cited:
https://www.pickleballmax.com/2022/03/pickleball-vs-tennis/
https://www.pickleballrush.com/how-to-play-pickleball/court-specifications/lines-areas
https://www.britannica.com/sports/tennis
https://www.harrodsport.com/advice-and-guides/tennis-court-dimensions
https://pickleballkitchen.com/pickleball-rules-what-is-the-kitchen-rule/