Have you ever been out in the park and stepped in the field that might look like a Pickleball court only to get weird looks from your peers while they hold different Paddles in their hands?
Well, don’t feel embarrassed because we have all been there mistaking Pop Tennis for Pickleball, the line between these two sports is so predominantly thin, that you might as well be playing both of these sports interchangeably.
Nevertheless, if you are inclined to know the difference or bear interest in getting into any of these sports, feel free to scroll down below,
Defining Elements Of Pop Tennis Vs Pickleball
Let’s take a jab at its gameplay mechanics first,
How Its Played Out
Pop tennis is basically a customized version of traditional tennis and is usually played out in doubles format. The game initiates through an underhand serve motion from the service box and points are scored through faults such as balls going out of boundaries or landing on illegal permanent objects such as the net.
In Pickleball, the dynamics seem much simpler, and in a straight straightforward fashion, players are required to initiate the service through an underhand gesture, however, this time, behind the baseline.
A point is scored either through winning rallies, landing the ball out of bounds, or hitting the ball directly in the Non-Volley Zone.
Ball Used
The ball used in Pop Tennis is similar to a traditional tennis game as it is made from rubber with felt material applied on top to provide a “pop” sound output when it’s hit with force.
They typically weigh 56 grams or 2 ounces at maximum and have a dense inner core to provide a tactile trajectory across the court.
A Pickleball, as the name suggests, has a unique perforated shape and design and has around 40 holes across it. One of the biggest discrepancies between Pop tennis with Pickleball is that, unlike a Pop Tennis ball, Pickleball has a hollow structure and weighs 0.935oz.
Paddle Type
In Pickleball, players are supposed to exert swings, splice, groundstroke, and Dinks, which is why the Paddles are optimized to have a smooth surface that is made from graphite or fiberglass.
The inner core has a honeycomb structure which allows top and reverse spin with minimal effort. As compared to Pop Tennis, Pickleball Paddles are far too small and measure 17 inches at maximum while weighing no more than 12 ounces.
Pop Tennis Paddles are fairly large, ranging up to 20 inches and it’s no wonder that even though they are made from carbon fiber, they weigh 12-16 ounces on a scale.
Aside from the size and their increased weight, the only other way to differentiate between these two sports Paddles is that, Unlike Pickleball Paddles, Pop Tennis has a perforated texture on its face, allowing air to pass through whenever a swinging motion is expected.
Court Dimensions
Now comes the most mind-blowing element, the physical dimensions of a Pickleball playing field measure around 44 feet in length while being 20 feet wide. Each side of the court is divided by the net which hangs at 36 inches across the sides while being 34 inches in the middle.
Right beside the net, there is a 7 feet Non-Volley Zone which prevents both teams from directly volleying the ball across the net.
On the other hand, the absence of a Non-volley zone allows players to hit the ball directly anywhere from the court, making the game playstyle as aggressive as possible.
A Pop Tennis session is supposed to be played out on a field measuring up to 60 feet in length while having a width of 21 feet, only for single formats which aren’t as likely.
Although most of the sessions are played out in doubles format, the court field is then stretched up to 27 feet in width.
You might want to read: Pickleball and Platform Tennis – Differences
Which Sports Has A Bigger Global Reach, Pop Tennis Or Pickleball?
Pickleball is considered one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, ever since its invention in 1965, it has seen a massive influx of players adopting the sport in the lifestyle for both recreational and professional purposes.
Ever since there have been around 4.8 million active players playing the sport, and countless tournaments are carried out in competitive settings both indoors and outdoors.
As for Pop Tennis, things may look bleak because it’s still trying to kick off in terms of popularity. One of the biggest factors that place this sport right behind pickleball is it’s fairly new, in fact, it was invented back in 1990 in the United Kingdom and was called “Air Tennis”.
Henceforth, its popularity got dampened with the name change as there are still people believing it’s a completely different sport.
Pickleball on the other hand had massive traction from numerous marketing campaigns implemented by the government as well as private Clubs, which is why it has been considered an official sport in upcoming Olympics events.
Pop Tennis is seen as a remix setting for traditional Tennis and has yet to see notoriety, however, that is only possible if widespread tournaments are carried out on a regular basis.
Which Sports Is More Beginner Friendly Among These Two?
It all boils down to your playstyle and how easily you evolve your skills with a sport, however, if you ask my opinion over which sports seem to have a lower learning curve, Pickleball would be my hands-down choice since it is easier to play and the mechanics are so user intuitive and does not requires you to jump through hoops just to learn basic techniques.
As for Pop Tennis, it’s basically a scaled-down version of Tennis which implies you would still be requiring the brawns and grit to play the sport along with its own remix set of settings which slightly raises the bar even for the most avid player.
Read Also: Wiffle Ball and Pickleball – Comparisons
Pop Tennis Vs Pickleball – Wrap Up
Nevertheless, both of these sports provide jolts of thrills and a relentless amount of adrenaline boosts if that’s what you are looking for the most.
In other words, the ratio of disappointment is little to none regardless of the fact you play it for recreational purposes or to kickstart your sports career.
That being said, feel free to bookmark this article, so you can visit it in a blink and attain esoteric knowledge right off the bat.
