Zip Zone - Pickleball

Pickleball at Zip Zone at The Longfellow Club - Wayland

It involves paddles, but it isn't table tennis; it involves a net-divided court, but it isn't tennis; it involves a wiffle ball; but there is no wiffle bat in sight.

It's pickleball, a unique sport in and of itself that has nothing to do with pickles. The sport was named after the cocker spaniel of the co-inventors, which chased the stray balls around the court before hiding in the bushes, according to the U.S. Pickleball Association website.

At 40 feet, a pickleball court is smaller than a traditional tennis court. The Zip tennis courts at the Longfellow Club, which are used to teach children the basics of tennis before moving up to a full-size tennis court, are a similar size.