Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velocity and control. Unlike most racquet sports, such as tennis and badminton, there is no net to hit the ball over, and, unlike squash, no tin to hit the ball above. Also, the court's walls, floor, and ceiling are legal playing surfaces, with the exception of court-specific designated hinders being out-of-bounds. Racquetball is played between various players on a team who try to bounce the ball with the racquet onto the ground so it hits the wall, so that an opposing team’s player cannot bounce it back to the wall.
Paddle tennis is a racket sport adapted from tennis and played for over a century. Compared to tennis, the court is smaller, has no doubles lanes, and the net is lower. Paddle tennis is played with a solid perforated paddle, as opposed to a strung racquet, and a lower pressure tennis ball.
Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two players (singles) or four players (doubles) use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 34-inch-high (0.86 m) net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played indoors and outdoors. It was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States, on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. In 2022, Pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.
A drop shot is a shot in some racket sports in which the ball is hit relatively softly, sometimes with topspin or backspin, so that it lands just over and close to the net. A well-placed and well-timed drop shot will make it difficult for the opposing player to hit an aggressive or offensive shot in return. The most successful drop shots will not allow the opponent to hit the ball back at all.
In ball sports, topspin or overspin is a property of a ball that rotates forwards as it is moving. Topspin on a ball propelled through the air imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air. Topspin is the opposite of backspin.
Padel, also sometimes called padel tennis, is a racket sport of Mexican origin, typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court. Although padel shares the same scoring system as tennis, the rules, strokes, and technique are different. The balls used are similar but with a little less pressure. The main differences are that the court has walls and the balls can be played off them in a similar way as in the game of squash and that solid, stringless bats are used. The height of the ball being served must be at or below the waist level.
Jaroslav Navrátil is a Czech tennis coach and a former professional player. Navrátil had most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he achieved a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 31 in 1987.
The Royal Spanish Tennis Federation, officially known as Real Federación Española de Tenis (RFET) in Spanish is the national governing body of tennis in Spain. Established in 1907, the federation oversees the development, regulation, and promotion of tennis at both the amateur and professional levels throughout the country. The Royal Spanish Tennis Federation is a member of the regional association Tennis Europe and is recognized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Spanish government as the authoritative body for tennis in Spain. The organization is also responsible for the Spanish Davis Cup team and the Spanish Fed Cup team. The federation headquarters lies in Barcelona.
Charles Edgar Brumfield is an American attorney and former professional racquetball player as well as a noted paddleball player. For much of his professional racquetball career, Brumfield was the marquis player for Leach Industries, the leading manufacturer of racquetball rackets at the time. Leach produced several Brumfield signature rackets including the "Graphite Brumfield". For a brief time, Brumfield had his own sports brand label, which marketed rackets and sports apparel.
Net and wall games are court games where either a net separates the opponents or a wall serves to reflect the ball to the opponent. The object of these games is to hit or throw the ball or bird over the net or against the wall back to the opponent. Play typically begins with one side serving the ball/bird by initially tossing or releasing it and then hitting/throwing it over the net or to the wall. This then starts a rally, in which the sides alternate hitting/throwing the ball/bird. Players then score points whenever the opponent fails to return the ball/bird back. The criteria on what is considered a valid return varies between each sport.
Navrátil is a Czech surname.
Andrei Dăescu is a former Romanian professional tennis player who now competes as a professional pickleball player. During his tennis career, he competed on both the ITF Men's Circuit and ATP Tour, representing Romania in the Davis Cup competition. A notable highlight of his career was qualifying for the 2015 US Open. Dăescu achieved a career-high ATP ranking of No. 126 in doubles and No. 654 in singles.
Salome Devidze is a Georgian tennis player and a professional pickleball player.
Jenny L. Klitch is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
Benjamin Ellingham Johns is an American professional pickleball player. He is ranked No. 1 in the world for mixed doubles, No. 2 for Singles, and No. 4 for Men's Doubles by the Pro Pickleball Association. (PPA)
This glossary provides definitions and context for terminology related to, and jargon specific to, the sport of pickleball. Words or phrases in italics can be found on the list in their respective alphabetic sections.
Rick Witsken is a former American tennis player and pickleball player, tennis coach, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Team Witsken and co-founder of the National Pickleball League (NPL).
Jocelyn “Jay” Devilliers is a French professional pickleball player. As of August 12, 2023, he is ranked No. 4 in the world for Men's Singles, No. 7 in the world for Men's Doubles, and No. 9 in the world for Men's Mixed Doubles by the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA).
Pickleball, a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, was invented in the United States in 1965, on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Since its introduction the sport has steadily increased in popularity, and in 2021, 2022, and 2023, the sport was named the fastest-growing sport in the United States by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. In 2022, pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.
