Not just for seniors: Pickleball growing in popularity among younger people in Singapore

SINGAPORE: A perforated plastic ball whizzes across the court as I flail a desperate forehand hoping to make any sort of contact.

Somehow, I do. Making a "pop" sound as it rebounds off my paddle, I manage a weak return across the court to Mr Chong Siew Tan, my coach for the afternoon and president of the Singapore Pickleball Association.

We started with the basics. The forehand, the backhand and the dink – a delicate and controlled shot.

As someone who played table tennis and badminton competitively, picking up the composite paddle and playing those shots was not too tough.

“The barrier to entry is not high. It's also very easy to have rallies, to sustain to and fro,” Mr Chong explained. 

“On a skill level of 0 to 100, you can reach 30,40 very fast. But, to go beyond (that level takes a while more).”

At the end of 15 minutes of returning a venomous serve, a thin film of sweat caked my face. And it dawned on me just what he meant. 

Pickleball is not as easy as it looks.

Invented in 1965, pickleball is a sport that combines aspects of badminton, tennis and table tennis. It can be played in both the singles and doubles format.

Pickleball can be played both indoors and outdoors – usually at badminton courts – with participants using a paddle to hit a plastic ball across a net about the same height as a tennis net.

The sport has exploded in popularity in the US in recent times, where it has been the fastest-growing sport in the country for the last three years, according to the US-based Sports and Fitness Industry Association.

A number of big-name athletes have also invested in professional pickleball teams, such as seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, former tennis world No 1 Kim Clijsters, and NBA stars LeBron James and Draymond