Bill Gates likes to play the "middle class sport" pickleball

                                                                                   Bill Gates likes to play the "middle class sport" pickleball

"No success is accidental."

While Frisbee is popular among young people in China's first - and second-tier cities, across the ocean, tall, muscular Americans are embracing a sport called "senior ball."

"Senior ball" professional name for Pickleball (Pickleball), is a fusion of badminton and table tennis elements, similar to tennis, simply put, is holding a large table tennis racket on the badminton court to play plastic tennis - is a suitable sport for men and women, young and old.

In recent years, the popularity of pickleball spread to the country, in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen appeared in many places related to the experience of venues, but because of the high price - including the field, rackets, balls, coaches, drinking water and photo services, one hour experience price of one hundred or two hundred yuan - and was played on the label of "middle class sports", gradually into the public eye.

In contrast, pickleball is extremely popular overseas. Celebrities such as Leonardo dicaprio and Emma Watson have shared the sport on social media, while business people such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates are betting big on the pickleball market. Pickleball, meanwhile, has become a show sport at the 2024 Games in Paris and is expected to be an official sport at the 2028 Games.

Pickleball was invented by accident.

In 1965, US Congressman Joel Pritchard, in order to find something to do for bored children, took out two boards and a plastic baseball, lowered the badminton net in his backyard to the right height, and the children played with it.

Twelve years later, the world's first pickleball game was held, and the sport of pickleball began to professionalize. In 1984, the American Amateur Pickleball Association was established, which actively promoted the process of the popularization of pickleball.

In recent years, especially after the pandemic, pickleball has taken off in North America. According to the Pickleball Professional Association, between August 2021 and August 2022, more than 36.5 million Americans played pickleball, accounting for about 10.99% of the U.S. population. Only 5 million players will play in 2021.

Drew Vazel, an official of the National Pickleball Association, said: "Pickleball suddenly became popular because most of the courts were converted from tennis courts. Many places have changed one basketball court into two pickleball courts."

The popularity of pickleball has also boosted the market size year by year. The data shows that the pickleball market was worth $810 million in 2015 and exceeded $1.196 billion in 2019. To date, the pickleball market has maintained a 10% annual growth rate and has twice been named the fastest growing sport in the United States by the American Sports and Fitness Industry Association.