Difference Between Tennis And Pickleball

If you are an avid supporter of tennis, you must have heard of pickleball. The ball is full of holes and made of plastic, unlike a tennis ball that is made from rubber and does not have a single hole. That will make everyone wonder how it was actually played. Pickleball has grown in popularity in recent years. It is not just a pleasant leisure and social sport, it can also be extremely competitive. Pickleball takes regulations from a variety of racquet sports yet has its own distinct flavor. Here’s how it is compared to tennis.

What is Pickleball?

Pickleball is a paddle sport that incorporates aspects of tennis, table tennis, and badminton. The court is an abbreviation for a tennis court and net, while the game itself mixes rules from many racquet sports. It can be played as singles or doubles, but it is most usually played as doubles. Pickleball, unlike tennis or other sports that require a string racquet, is played using a flat paddle. Pickleball paddles, like tennis racquets and string types, come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses based on your preferred style of play. It employs plastic balls with perforated holes instead of the felt-covered balls found in tennis.

Most people would call this type of ball a “wiffle ball.” Because they are lighter and have fewer holes, these balls glide through the air much more cleanly than a tennis ball. Pickleball employs plastic balls with perforated holes instead of felt-covered balls. Also read: The Top 10 Rules of Tennis Everyone Must Know.

Common Difference Between Pickleball and a Tennis Ball

• There is no double fault with serving in pickleball.
• In doubles, each player on a team gets to serve at least once until they lose their turn.
• The court dimensions are the same for singles and doubles.
• Overhead serving is not allowed. Serving in pickleball is underhand only.
• Pickleball is typically frantic and loud, and it is often accompanied by music.

Major Difference Between Pickleball and Tennis

Pickle balls and Tennis balls

When I observe a tennis player’s first reaction to how a pickleball behaves, I always have a light chuckle. Their puzzled expression is priceless. They’re perplexed because they’re not used to how low a pickleball bounces. Tennis balls are just large bouncing balls. When struck or dropped, the ball’s interior is constructed of a hollow rubber core that contracts. The same rubber core is responsible for the ball’s high bounce. This “bounciness” is typical and anticipated for a tennis player.

Pickleballs, on the other hand, do not have a high bounce since they are a shell rather than a core. They are made of tough, but sometimes delicate, plastic. The ball does not compress and thus doesn’t bounce very high. Also Read: 5 Weird Rules of Tennis

Tennis racquets & pickleball paddles

“Tennis racquets sink, pickleball paddles dink”.

Anonymous

When you hit a tennis ball with a tennis racquet, the ball compresses into the racquet and the strings bend slightly to compensate. This does not happen in pickleball. Pickleball paddles are similar to stone walls. Pickleballs, as previously stated, do not compress. So when you strike a pickleball with your paddle, it bursts off immediately and deflects rather than compresses.

As a result, when playing pickleball, you can’t “grab” the ball and spin it very well. The instant of contact in pickleball isn’t long enough for physics to take effect.

The courts

A pickleball court is only 20′ by 44′ in size. You might remember these measurements from our cousin, badminton. Pickleball was first played on a badminton court, with the net extended all the way to the ground. The net is also noticeably smaller. When I go to a tennis court to play pickleball, I’m always amazed at how large the tennis nets appear to me. I feel like a chipmunk peering up into an elephant’s shadow.

But don’t be fooled by the pickleball net’s small size. Getting the ball over the net is just as difficult as it is in tennis. In fact, it might be aggravating when you can’t access the ball on the court. Also Read: What is LET in Tennis? It’s Definition, History and FAQ

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