POP Tennis vs Pickleball: Picking the Perfect One For You

In the last few years, it seems like racket sports have been popping up everywhere. And we mean that literally. In the last decade, POP tennis and pickleball have surged in popularity. But how do the two sports compare: POP Tennis vs Pickleball…

Let’s take a look at the POPular sport (see what I did there).

I know: dad jokes…you’re not impressed. Neither are my kids.

Let’s get to the details.

What are the similarities and differences of POP tennis and pickleball?

POP Tennis vs Pickleball: What is the difference?

The two sports started on opposite coasts.

Pickleball was born on an island off the West Coast of the United States.

POP Tennis (or paddle tennis) was started on the East Coast in the most densely populated borough of New York City.

But both sports were adapted from the game of tennis.

Pickleball players use solid paddles to hit a plastic ball over a tennis-style net.

POP Tennis players hit a low compression tennis ball over the net using a paddle with holes in the paddle face.

But POP tennis has a larger court than pickleball, and the court affects the gameplay of both games.

Pickleball is a game of a finesse and strategy, more than the power. The smaller court and plastic ball make it a game for people of all ages.

But POP Tennis is more similar to regular tennis with a slightly faster pace of play than pickleball and a slower pace than traditional tennis.

Pop Tennis Origin: What is the History of the Game?

POP Tennis was originally known as paddle tennis.

Frank Peer Beal, who was an Episcopal minister, initially invented paddle tennis as a playground game in 1898 in Albion, Michigan. Beal wanted a sport that would give a stepping stone for children learning to play the traditional tennis game.

For the original paddle tennis court, Beal cut the regular tennis court in half (down to 39′ x 19′) so that kids would have less ground to cover, and he gave players a wooden paddle instead of a tennis racquet.

But around 1915, Beal moved to New York City and that is where the game really took off.

As the game spread, it began to grow in popularity among adults in lower Manhattan, and the city even built courts in Washington Square Park and Greenwich Village.

And in the early 1920s, the first paddle tennis tournament was held.

Within a decade or two, the sport had spread to the West Coast, gaining significant popularity in the Los Angeles area.

Beal later formed the United States Paddle Tennis Association that helped the game continue to spread.

In 2014, the sport was renamed POP Tennis.

And it has continued to grow in popularity to this day.

How To Play Pop Tennis

POP tennis is very similar to the sport of tenni s.

Players use a flat paddle that has perforated holes in the head.

And the goal of the game is to the hit the lower-compression tennis ball over the net and into your opponent’s court.

At the beginning of a game, the first player hits an underhand serve to start a rally, and the teams play back and forth until someone commits a fault (like hitting the ball out of bounds or into the net, etc.).

POP Tennis is most often played in a doubles format, though singles is gaining popularity.

Again, POP tennis is very much like traditional tennis.

That’s because the inventor of the game created it to help young players grow into full-court tennis players.

But with the lower-compression balls and smaller court size, the game attracted a different type of player and it took on a life of its own.

Like pickleball, POP tennis has become a sport for people of all ages and abilities.

POP Tennis Court: What is a POP Tennis Court?

The official POP Tennis court looks like the Mini Me of a traditional tennis court.

In fact, the two courts are nearly identical except for the size of the court.

When the game was invented, the court was originally built to be 39 feet long by 19 feet wide.

But in the modern game, a POP Tennis court is 50 feet in length and 20 feet in width (compared to tennis: 78′ x 21′).

And the court is made from the same materials, often concrete or asphalt on hard courts.

But there are also a few size variations of a POP Tennis court that are legal, according to POP Tennis USA.

Players can also play POP Tennis on junior tennis courts, which are 60-foot courts (60′ x 27′ for doubles, 60′ x 21′ for singles).

Here is a breakdown of the three court options for POP tennis:

Classic Court

Size: 50′ (L) x 20′ (W)
Net: 31 inches

POP 36 Court

Size: 36′ (L) x 18′ (W)
Net: 33 inches

POP 60 Court

DOUBLES COURT

Size: 60′ (L) x 27′ (W)
Net: 36 inches

SINGLES COURT

Size: 60′ (L) x 21′ (W)
Net: 36 inches

The Net

POP tennis nets are 31 inches tall on a Classic Court configuration, a little lower than a traditional tennis net.

And on a POP 60 court, the net is set at the regular 36 inches.

But for a POP 36 court, the net is 33 inches in height.

POP Tennis Equipment

As with most sports, POP Tennis has balls, paddles, and other equipment that are unique to the game.

Let’s break them down together.

POP Tennis Paddle

POP Tennis paddles are solid paddles with a rounded head made from carbon fiber or fiberglass.

And they are very different from a tennis racket. There are no strings, but each paddle has small, perforated holes in the paddle face to help with aerodynamics.

POP Tennis racquets can be as big as 18.5 inches in length, but the standard size is around 18 inches (much shorter than a regular tennis racket).

The POP Tennis Ball

POP Tennis balls look like a standard tennis ball on the outside with soft, green fabric surrounding a rubber core.

But as my mom used to say to me when I would complain that I was ugly: it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

And the inside of a POP tennis ball has less pressure than a traditional tennis ball (75% of the compression compared to tennis ball).

And that makes a huge difference.

The lower compression tennis balls jump off the paddle a little slower and bounce a little lower than a regular tennis ball.

Interestingly, POP tennis balls are marked with a large green dot to designate them from tennis balls. They are called green dot tennis balls.

Pickleball Origin: What is the History of the Game?

It all started on a summer trip on Bainbridge Island off the coast of Washington in 1965.

Three families were vacationing together.

And the three dads–Barney McCallum, Bill Bell, and Joel Pritchard–returned from golf to find the kids bored out of their minds.

So the dads and kids dug out some wiffle balls and table tennis paddles and began to hit the ball over a badminton net that was on the property.

In the next few days, neighbors joined in the fun, and the three men gave the game a name–pickleball (thought it’s disputed on how that name was chosen).

But the game was a hit, and it began to spread along the West Coast.

In 1976, the first pickleball tournament was held at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington.

And as pickleball spread all over the country, the USA Pickleball Association was created in 1984.

How to Play Pickleball

Pickleball players use a paddle to hit a plastic ball over the net.

At the beginning of the game, the serving player hits an underhand serve diagonally across the pickleball court, and the two teams hit the ball back and forth over the net until someone commits a fault.

While this may sound a lot like tennis with a whiffle ball, there are some unique parts to the game of pickleball.

Let’s start from the top of a rally…

Let’s imagine that you hit a great, underhand serve over the net and into your opponent’s service courts.

This is where it gets interesting.

Both teams must follow the double-bounce rule at the beginning of the rally.

DOUBLE BOUNCE RULE: The first two shots of the game must bounce before you hit them. You cannot volley the ball out of the air until the third shot of the rally.

So back to our scenario…

You hit a great serve and as it comes to the the receiving team, they allow the ball to bounce before they return it (Nicely done. They followed the double-bounce rule).

The ball bounces, and they hit it back over the net to you.

As the ball flies toward you, you have a chance to hit a smash out of the air, but you remember the double-bounce rule.

Wait, you think, I have to let this bounce.

So you do, and then you hit a third-shot drop shot right into their kitchen.

From here, both teams can volley, dink, or smash the ball to their heart’s content.

Just get the ball over the net and get that point.

That’s the goal of pickleball.

Pickleball Court

The pickleball court is the same size as a doubles badminton court–44 feet in length by 20 feet wide.

It is significantly smaller than the size of a tennis court, and there is no doubles lane.

Both singles and doubles format are played on the same size court.

And the shorter courts allow people of varying ages to compete against one another.

Pickleball is played both indoors and outdoors, and the surface of the court varies with both settings.

An indoor court is often set up on a gym surface, like a volleyball or basketball court.

But there are a number of tennis clubs who are also installing indoor pickleball courts on their tennis surfaces.

Outdoor pickleball courts are often made of concrete or asphalt (you will want to wear court shoes).

Some have also tried to play pickleball on grass surfaces or on the beach, but you have to alter the rules to make it It’s best to have a hard surface.

The pickleball court also includes a non-volley zone (the kitchen), which is unique to pickleball. The non-volley zone is a 7-foot area near the net marked off by an additional line called the non-volley zone line or kitchen line.

Players cannot step into the non-volley zone and volley the ball out of the air. They must let it bounce to step into the NVZ and hit the ball.

Pickleball Net

The net in pickleball is set at 34 inches at the center of the court.

And the net height raises gradually as it moves toward the edge of the court.

By the time the net is at the poles at the side of the court, it is 36 inches high.

Pickleball Equipment

As pickleball has grown in popularity over the last few decades, pickleball equipment options have sprouted up.

Major tennis brands, like HEAD and Prince, have started making pickleball paddles.

And Nike, ASICS, Adidas and many others have started making pickleball shoes and apparel.

There are so many options on the pickleball market these days.

But I have good news: you only need a paddle, a pickleball, and a partner to play.

Pickleball Paddle

When pickleball was invented, players used ping pong paddles.

And as the game evolved, Barney McCallum carved solid wooden paddles with woodworking tools in his garage.

But the paddle has come a long way since those days.

Pickleball paddles are now made of graphite, carbon fiber, or fiberglass (composite materials).

In the modern game, paddles are between 15.5 and 17 inches in length, and weigh anywhere between 7.5 and 10 ounces.

Pickleball Ball

The pickleball ball looks like a plastic whiffle ball with small, round holes all over the surface.

Approximately 3 inches in diameter, the outside of the ball is made of heavy plastic.

Outdoor balls are a little thicker to help the plastic balls cut through the wind and elements while indoor balls are a little lighter and softer.

POP Tennis vs Pickleball: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Now that we’ve learned a little bit about each sports, let’s put them next to one another in a side-by-side comparison.

With all of that information, your head is probably spinning.

We will focus in on the big differences and similarities of these two paddle sports.

POP Tennis vs Pickleball: The Court

POP Tennis Court

Size
- Classic Court: 50 feet (L) x 20 feet (W)
- POP 36 Court: 36′ (L) x 18′ (W)
- POP 60 Court: 60′ (L) x 27′ (W) [Doubles] | 60′ (L) x 21′ (W) [Singles]
Surface: Concrete or asphalt on the hard courts (similar to tennis court)
Unique Characteristics: There are three size variations of the POP tennis court.
Formerly known as paddle tennis courts.

Pickleball Court

Size: 44 feet (L) x 20 feet (W)
Surface: Concrete or asphalt for outdoor courts and gym surface (poly)
Unique Characteristics: The Non-Volley Zone (the Kitchen)