‘Absolutely insane’: Pickleball player KO’s rival with kick to the face in wild scenes

A shocking moment of bad sportsmanship has gone viral after a pickleball game ended with a horrific act that shocked the world.

A pickleball player has gone viral after kicking a rival in the head in wild scenes.

Pickleball has become one of the fastest growing sports in the world, combining sports such as tennis, table tennis and badminton on a small court similar to a badminton court.

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Using paddles rather than racquets as well as a small perforated plastic ball, the usual issues for the game come from noise complaints from locals.

But a video has gone viral for all the wrong reasons after a horrific scene at the end of a doubles match.

In what appeared to be a match point, the kicker, who was wearing pink shorts, received a serve before approaching the net, where he stepped over the non-volley line.

A non-volley zone, or kitchen, extends seven feet from the net on either side and its pretty self explanatory.

So when the eventual kicker stepped over the line, he gave away a foot fault, and ultimately the match.

On the other side of the net, the man who would be kicked, who was wearing a green shirt, celebrated, screaming “c’mon, let’s go — f**k yeah”.

While that wasn’t the act of a gracious winner, the pairs stepped up to the line to shake hands.

But this is where it all went wrong as the man in the pink shorts appeared to hold out his paddle, which the man in the green knocked out of his hands.

It’s unclear whether this was intentional or a mistake, it appeared to have been an accident as the man in the green shirt immediately leaned over the net to pick up the paddle he had just knocked to the ground, when the man in the pink shorts kicked his opponent in the face.

Watch the video in the player above.

That is as bad as it gets. Photo: X

The player was not in a good way. Photo: X

The man who was kicked fell to the ground seemingly unconscious as he fell on the temporary net and his teammate confronted the kicker, shoving him in the face as other people in the area stepped in.

The Kitchen Pickleball X account tweeted that the video was “absolutely insane” but the man who was kicked, whose name is reportedly Peter Shonk, “wants everyone to know that he is OK”.

The post also revealed that it was the championship point of a tournament from the weekend.

“While I understand things get heated at tournaments this behaviour is disgusting and completely unacceptable. I love pickleball as much as anyone I know but at the end of the day … it’s just pickleball,” the account posted.

“Thankful that Peter wasn’t seriously injured.”

The account also revealed that Shonk had “No interest in pressing charges,” but that he “Lost memory for 3 hours”.

Shonk's teammate confronted the kicker. Photo: X

The chaotic scenes left everyone stunned. Photo: X

However, there were plenty of commenters who hit out at Shonk’s aggressive celebrations as well as for knocking the paddle out of his rivals hands.

Plenty more pointed out that Shonk appeared to be attempting dap up the other player and accidentally hit the paddle.

Barstool Sports shared the video, writing: “A KICK TO THE FACE?? This pickleball s**t just means more.”

Jordie from Barstool Sports added: “Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. But maybe we should shrink the game a little if we have people kicking each other in the goddamn face over a loss.”

One fan wrote: “Are head kicks legal in pickleball? I don’t know the rules.”

Another posted: “Imagine going to jail over Pickleball. The partner should’ve dropped that dude.”

A third commented: “I love pickleball … but folks, it’s not a real sport, no need to kick other people.”

Another suggested: “I thought pickleball was supposed to be the chill version of badminton and tennis.”

Pickleball is not only growing in popularity in the US with Australia also having a growing community of players.

It can be played in singles and doubles formats. Its distinctive underhand serves and smaller courts can create a dynamic akin to chess.

The sport’s easy-to-grasp rules and accessibility have made it a hit among newcomers. It’s a game for all ages and skill levels.

While Queensland was initially at the forefront of pickleball’s spread in Australia, it’s now gaining traction in NSW and Victoria.

The Pickleball Australia Association reportedly has over 15,000 members and 255 clubs.

Originally published as ‘Absolutely insane’: Pickleball player KO’s rival with kick to the face in wild scenes