'Play once and that’s it, you’re hooked': Welcome to Pickleball the new sport taking Peterborough by storm

Played by everyone from George Clooney and Robbie Williams to Leonardo DiCaprio and the Kardashians, pickleball has taken the USA by storm in recent years.

Now, the game – which combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis – is experiencing an explosion of interest across the UK.

Pep Guiliano, a Crowland restaurateur and part-time pickleball coach, is one of our region’s most zealous converts.

The 40-year-old explained to the Peterborough Telegraph what made him fall in love with the game.

“Just before Covid hit in March, my friend, who’d been to America, sent me a message saying ‘check this out on You Tube’ and I thought ‘wow, I absolutely love this.’

“The sound of the ball hitting the paddle was what got me. It was so infectious that I just fell in love.”

Pickleball players use rectangular, solid-faced ‘paddles’, similar to large ping pong bats, to hit a perforated plastic ball over a 36-inch-high net.

The game is played on a badminton-sized court so there’s less running than with tennis.

Serves are performed under arm and the ball has less bounce than a tennis ball

Pep says this all helps to make the game more tactical than it may initially seem.

“You play on a badminton court but there is a non-volley zone near the net.

"You’re not allowed to step and volley in that area - this makes the game very strategic.”

‘It’s a game you can play with anybody’

The sport, which can be played as singles (two players) or doubles (four players), is growing “very rapidly."

David Lloyd now offers pickleball at 19 of its centres across the UK, while visitors to Center Parcs can book sessions at its Woburn Forest holiday village.

Pickleball England – the sport’s national governing body – is looking to partner with schools to introduce the game to children, aiming to have 25,000 members nationally by 2025.

So what is it that makes pickleball so appealing?

“It’s a game you can play with anybody”, enthuses Pep. “It’s easy to pick up, you don’t need to spend a lot of money and it’s hours and hours of fun.”

Nick Neil, a friend of Pep’s and fellow pickleball devotee, agrees that accessibility is perhaps the game’s greatest pull.

“It’s a fun game with great rallies”, says the semi-retired IT consultant. “Novices with previous experience in playing tennis or badminton normally pick it up very quickly.”

Nick first encountered pickleball while holidaying with his family in Florida three years ago.

The 58-year-old is keen to highlight the benefits pickleball offers those who may no longer be in peak physical condition.

“From my experience, pickleball is much easier on your knees but is still good exercise. Certainly some people who can no longer play tennis can still enjoy playing pickleball.”

Pickleball is believed to have originated in America during the 1960s when two dads were looking to alleviate their boredom while making use of an old badminton court.

Over the course of the day, they dug out some table tennis bats, found a perforated plastic ball and lowered the net to 36 inches.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Peterborough has a number of venues offering pickleball sessions.

David Lloyd in Thorpe Wood offers five sessions per week while Castor & Ailsworth Tennis club provides two.

Anyone interested in trying pickleball can reach out to these venues directly, or check out Peterborough Pickleball Club’s Facebook page.