Although pickleball has been around for more than 50 years, it has gained more popularity recently as people are looking for ways to stay physically active while maintaining safe social dinstanding guidelines.  We hope that you continue to play pickleball after the pandemic and social distancing concerns have passed, but if you are new to the sport, we understand that you might not know exactly how to play!  This guide gives you a quick overview of the equipment needed to play pickleball, how the court should be set up, and a list of seven rules that can be hard for new pickleball players to understand.  How Many People Do You Need To Play?  Pickleball is usually played with two people...

Reflecting pickleball’s growing popularity, the 2018 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships step into the limelight at the Indian Well Tennis Garden. The 2018 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships will involve players from the valley and take place at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Nov. 3-11. PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVEN SALISBURY “Interest is off the charts.” That’s how Justin Maloof, executive director of the USA Pickleball Association, describes the build-up to his fast-growing sport’s 10th annual National Championships, which for the first time will take place in the valley, Nov. 3-11, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. “We’ve got about 2,500 participants registered, which is a remarkable increase from the 1,300 we had last year,” Maloof explains.  “It’s our hope that this event...