The game's unusual name originated through Joan Pritchard, who said it reminded her of the "Pickle" Boat whose crew of rowers were chosen from the scraps of other boats. " [1] Today's popular version is that the game is named after the family dog Pickles. Joan corrected this story in interviews, but the story persists. It is then said that the whiffle ball belonged to the dog. If there was a swinging ball, Pickle would have run and tried to hide the ball. They named the game after their dog's ball, "Pickles ball," and then it became Pickleball. The truth is, the Pritchard family didn't get the dog until 1967, [2] so actually the dog was named after the sport.
Originally invented as a backyard pastime, pickleball is now a sport organized in the USA and Canada with a national association, many clubs and many playing fields. Since its inception in 1965, pickleball has spread mainly in the United States and Canada. In recent years, pickleball has grown explosively and there are now pickleball courts everywhere, often newly constructed but also regularly on tennis courts. The U.S.A. The Pickleball Association estimates that there are currently about 2.5 million pickleball players in that country alone. Pickleball is also growing very fast in Canada.
Pickleball is now played on all continents and pickleball is also played somewhere in most European countries. There are more and more tournaments such as in Finland, England, Spain, France and every 2 years there is an international tournament in Amsterdam / Almere.
