The Clooney and Kardashians love it – but what is pickleball and where can Aussies play it?

With celeb fans like George Clooney and the Kardashians, there’s one sport going gangbusters in the US and now Aussies are getting in on the act.

When Boost Juice founder, Janine Allis, sold her Toorak home last year, the new owners inherited a custom-built mansion with five bedrooms, home offices, a pool, yoga room – and a pickleball court.

In the US, where pickleball is played by 4.8 million people, the Kardashians, George and Amal Clooney and Bill Gates are also fans.

The US Sports and Fitness Industry Association describes pickleball as ‘America’s fastest growing sport’.

The game was invented in the US in 1965 by three men who wanted to create a game that all family members could play.

The result was a cross between tennis, table tennis and badminton.

It’s played on a badminton court with a net a little lower than a tennis net and with a plastic ball with holes.

Bats were originally wooden but can now be carbon fibre.

While pickleball is well-established in the US, it’s gaining followers in Australia, too.

In Tasmania earlier this year, Pickleball Tasmania ran extra courses to introduce new players to the sport after the initial course was oversubscribed.

In Queensland, the first pickleball players picked up their bats more than 10 years ago and now the Pickleball Association Queensland boasts hundreds of players.

In October, the Sunshine state will host the Australian Championships.

Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the US and is taking off in Australia too.

Pickleball Victoria estimates 1000 people play each week and one of them is Aaron Blitz, 25, from Pearcedale.

He’s played for five years and has won national and state pickleball titles.

“I discovered pickleball while I was at uni and coaching tennis. My head tennis coach had a friend who coached pickleball professionals in the US and he introduced me to it. I’d played tennis for ten years at a high level and wasn’t enjoying it as much. Pickleball was more social,” says Blitz.

He began one of Victoria’s first pickleball clubs at Pearcedale Tennis Club.

“We began with one court, four paddles and a net and now have six courts and 30 or 40 people play every Wednesday night,” he says.

When Aaron was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last year, his duties as Pickleball Victoria Secretary and his matches helped him through.

“You don’t need as much energy and mobility as you need for tennis because the court is smaller and the ball is easier to return, so I could still play,” says Blitz.

“That kept me sane. I could still do something that I enjoyed at a time in my life when everything else had to be put on hold.”

Aaron Blitz is a pickleball devotee.

Throughout the year, there are competitions across Australia for those who want to take their pickleball to the next level.

Victoria and NSW compete in the Battle of the Border event and there are competitions across NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

The Tasmanian Open, the South Australia Doubles Championships, the WA Mixed Doubles Open and the East Coast Masters are all opportunities for Australia’s most proficient pickleball players to show their talents.

Mark Taylor, President of Pickleball Victoria, began playing pickleball two years ago. He plays three times a week and competes.

“A friend encouraged me to have a go and I was hooked,” he says.

“I like the social side of it plus you can start without much physical fitness and gradually build your skills. It’s a great way to get active again.”

For details of the nearest pickleball club or venue in your state go to pickleballaus.org.

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of pickleball’s high-profile American fans. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Netflix

How to play

•The ball is served diagonally – the first serve is from the right-hand service square. Only the serving side can score points and the serve must be underhand.

•The ball must bounce once before a serve can be returned. Then the ball can be volleyed or played off the bounce.

•There is a no-volley zone on each side of the net.

•The player who is serving continues to serve, switching from left to right of the court, until they fault ie if the ball falls inside the no-volley zone, is hit out of bounds, or doesn’t clear the net.

•The first team to score 11 points and to lead by at least two points wins.

Pickleball is popular with all ages and levels of fitness.

Unusual sports you may not have heard of …

•Bossaball: Four players per team play on an inflatable court and trampoline. It’s a mix of volleyball, soccer and gymnastics and originated in Spain but is now played in more than 20 countries,

•Extreme Ironing: Believe it or not, around the world people are competing to iron in the most outlandish places. Complete with iron and ironing board, people have ironed clothes on mountaintops and while climbing cliffs and skydiving.

•Face slapping: Believed to have started in Russia about four years ago, face slapping competitions take turns to slap each other until someone taps out or gets knocked out. One of the world’s most accomplished face slappers is 370-pound Vasily Pelmen who earned the nickname Dumpling.

Originally published as The Clooney and Kardashians love it – but what is pickleball and where can Aussies play it?