Ultra-friendly and incredibly accessible: forget padel, welcome pickleball

Van Dijken (43) speaks from experience. He discovered the sport four years ago and has been an avid player ever since. He even became the Dutch doubles champion, a title he downplays himself. Currently, an estimated 2,500 people in the Netherlands play pickleball. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Van Dijken and the KNLTB (Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association) have made it their mission to grow the sport. The tennis federation has appointed him as the national coach of pickleball. His first task is to form a Dutch team for the European Championship in Rome this September. But the bigger challenge lies in sparking public enthusiasm for this relatively new sport.

Van Dijken sees plenty of opportunity. “The threshold for pickleball is very low,” he explains. “Basically, you chalk some lines on the ground, hang up a net, and you’re ready to go. Pickleball can be played virtually anywhere.” That makes it more accessible than, say, padel.

A mix of tennis, table tennis, and badminton

Pickleball is best described as a mix of tennis, table tennis, and badminton. The court is about the size of a badminton court, but the net hangs low like in tennis. The ball is made of hard plastic, and the paddle resembles an oversized table tennis racket. It’s played outdoors, without walls (see box).

As the new national coach, Van Dijken sees pickleball as a highly social sport. Experience shows that new players pick it up quickly, especially if they have a background in another racket sport. Van Dijken has seen firsthand how immensely popular pickleball has become in the United States. “You’ll find courts everywhere — in neighborhoods, in parks. Players are friendly with each other. Pickleball isn’t an overly competitive sport; it brings people together. I’ve even played it myself in Central Park, New York.” Laughing: “That’s a must-do experience.”

Entertaining the kids

The sport originated in the United States in the 1960s. Legend has it that three friends wanted to entertain their children with a game of badminton, but couldn’t find a shuttlecock. They improvised with wooden paddles and a hard ball, lowered the net, and made up their own rules.

Why the sport is called pickleball is a matter of debate. One — rather dubious — tale says one of the men had a dog named Pickles who would chase after the ball. More likely, it’s named after the so-called “pickle boat” from rowing — a boat made up of leftover rowers who didn’t make it into other boats. In that sense, pickleball is also a mash-up of other racket sports.

Andre Agassi as ambassador

In recent years, the sport has slowly spread to other countries, says Van Dijken. “It’s growing in Australia, Canada, and parts of Asia.” It helps that tennis legend Andre Agassi has fully embraced the sport and acts as a sort of ambassador. There have even been efforts to introduce pickleball as a (demonstration) sport at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. But the sport is still too unknown for that. Instead, flag football, lacrosse, and squash will be featured.

In the Netherlands, the sport is still too small for high-profile ambassadors, says Heleen de Jong of the KNLTB. Together with a team, she is responsible for developing pickleball within the tennis federation. “There are currently about sixty locations in the Netherlands where the sport can be played. We want to grow it carefully and strategically.”

Courts at tennis clubs

At this year’s ABN Amro Tennis Tournament in Ahoy, visitors had the chance to try out pickleball for themselves. The KNLTB is also considering promoting the sport at Davis Cup matches. “But what’s more important right now is helping tennis clubs set up pickleball courts,” De Jong says. “At least a hundred clubs have shown interest. At my own tennis club in Amersfoort, we painted four pickleball courts onto a concrete handball field. It’s that easy.”

A crucial factor in the sport’s growth will be having enough trained instructors. The new national coach will help set up a proper training program. “Growing pickleball won’t happen overnight,” says De Jong. “We know space for sports is limited across the Netherlands. At the same time, the country is facing a physical inactivity crisis. Pickleball is a fantastic solution to that.”