Noisy, silly, friendly pickleball – America’s fastest growing sport
Not long after 8 a.m. on an overcast Saturday, the Darby Park tennis courts under the flight path of Los Angeles International Airport come alive with a remarkable mix of people in workout clothes. Young and old; Black, Latino, Asian, and white; and singles, couples, and siblings crowd around courts, converted to a smaller size, to play the nation’s fastest growing sport: pickleball.
The steady roar of traffic and jets overhead doesn’t dampen the sport’s trademark welcoming spirit.
For the next three hours, the thwack of whiffle balls on paddles – in a game described as a cross between pingpong and tennis –punctuates the laughter on each of eight courts taped off to 44-by-20-foot pickleball court dimensions. There are powerful backhand volleys; soft, short “dinks”; and
