If you've searched for pickleball and ended up reading about paddleball — or the other way around — you're not alone. The names are confusingly similar and both involve hitting a ball with a paddle. But beyond that, the two sports have almost nothing in common.
What is Paddleball?
Paddleball is a wall sport. Players hit a small rubber ball against a wall using a solid paddle, similar to how squash or racquetball works. There's no net, no opposing player on the other side of the court — just you, a wall, and a ball.
There are two main versions:
One-wall paddleball — played on a single wall, popular in New York City parks. The court is marked on the ground in front of the wall and players compete to hit the ball so the opponent can't return it.
Four-wall paddleball — played in an enclosed court, similar to racquetball. The ball can be played off any wall.
The paddle used in paddleball is solid with no holes — usually wood or composite — and the ball is a small, pressurised rubber ball, not a wiffle ball.
What is Pickleball?
Pickleball is a net sport. Two or four players face each other across a net on a court roughly the size of a badminton court. They use a paddle — larger than a paddleball paddle but solid with no strings — to hit a lightweight plastic ball with holes through it.
The game borrows elements from tennis, badminton, and table tennis. Points are scored, rallies happen across the net, and the kitchen (non-volley zone) near the net adds a tactical layer that makes the sport unique.
The Key Differences
| Paddleball | Pickleball | |
|---|---|---|
| Court setup | Wall, no net | Net, opposing players |
| Ball | Small rubber ball | Plastic wiffle-style ball |
| Players | 1 or 2 | 2 or 4 |
| Origin | USA, 1930s | USA, 1965 |
| UK popularity | Very rare | Fast growing |
Why the Confusion?
The names are similar enough that search engines — and people — regularly mix them up. Searches for "paddleball" have spiked in the UK recently, often from people who actually mean pickleball.
If you've seen people playing at a leisure centre in Nottingham with paddles and a plastic ball across a net — that's pickleball. Paddleball is almost non-existent in the UK.
Which One Should You Try?
If you're in Nottinghamshire, the answer is simple — pickleball. There are no paddleball courts or clubs in the area. Pickleball runs regularly at venues across the county including Chilwell Olympia and Let's Dink in Caunton.
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