Phoenix at center of growing sport -- pickleball

• Phoenix area home to national tournament
• Sport created in 1965 by former congressman
• Game especially popular among senior citizens

PHOENIX -- Steve Wong quit his job as an information-technology manager in Washington state last year and moved to Surprise, Ariz., for one reason: pickleball.

The 34-year-old spends five to six hours nearly every day coaching or playing the racket sport. When he's not on the courts, he's running a pickleball-equipment business.

His company, S-Type Sports, nearly tripled its sales last year, he said, a sure sign of the game's popularity.

Organizers tout pickleball as America's fastest-growing sport. For many players, the Phoenix area serves as their mecca — the national tournament is held each year in Buckeye, and Surprise is home to pickleball's official non-profit organization.

Although no exact records are kept, estimates indicate there were about 106,000 players in the country as of the end of 2011.

And that number is increasing, players say.

"We just get people on the court, and the game sells itself," said Bill Booth, president of the USA Pickleball Association.

For Wong, who was introduced to the sport in an eighth-grade gym class, it has become a way of life. He helped revamp the USA Pickleball Association in 2005 and is vice president of the Surprise Pickleball Association.

"I never would have imagined doing this (in eighth grade)," Wong said.

Pickleball is played like tennis, but with enlarged ping-pong-like paddles and a plastic Wiffle ball on a badminton-size court.

Created in 1965, the sport began in the backyard of former U.S. Rep. Joel Pritchard, R-Wash. After a day of playing golf, Pritchard returned to his Washington state home in search of a more family-friendly game.

With makeshift paddles in hand, he and a friend began batting around a perforated plastic ball.

Rules were set and, a few tweaks later, pickleball was born.

Today, the number of places to play has nearly doubled since 2010 to more than 1,500 locations, with about 84 of those in Arizona, according to the USAPA.

Top players flock to the Phoenix area for some of the nation's fiercest competition.

Surprise, especially, serves as an essential stop along the pickleball circuit, which includes states such as Florida and Michigan.

Booth credits the boom to the organization's ambassador program, which has about 700 volunteers across the country charged with teaching the game or spearheading the creation of new courts.

Former Arizona State University softball coach Mary Littlewood first picked up a paddle at an RV park near Apache Junction about 12 years ago and immediately fell in love.

"Once you get to be my age, you have golf or pickleball," said the Phoenix ambassador, who is 78 years old.

Littlewood is among many in the senior community who have taken up the game to stay active.

The smaller court makes the game easier on joints and the conversations more free-flowing.

Pickleball is "a game you can continue to play until you die," said Littlewood, who has had both knees replaced, suffered a ruptured tendon and had rotator-cuff surgery.

Jeanne Harteau, 54, moved from Wisconsin to the Sun City Grand retirement community in Surprise about seven years ago.

She had never played a sport competitively in her life. Harteau and her husband started at the community's tennis courts before realizing the party was at the pickleball area.

"There were just tons of people playing, laughing and having fun," said Harteau, who's now a 4.5-level player.

Skill levels increase incrementally by 0.5 from 2.0 to 5.0. The more medals won in tournaments, the higher a player is rated.

Despite its popularity among seniors, pickleball has yet to break into the mainstream. Equipment is often difficult to find in big-box retailers, and players must go on the Internet to buy what they need.

The USAPA is hoping to change that by targeting a younger demographic. It provides grants to local YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs for equipment and often offers clinics in schools.

Those 18 and under are given a break on tournament fees. At the USAPA National Tournament in November, they were charged $5 to enter, a deal when compared with the $30 adult-entry fee.

"People think (pickleball is) more geared toward seniors, but even my 8-year-old plays. It's very competitive," said Wong, who won three gold medals and a silver medal at the national tournament.

But it's not always about winning.

On a recent Tuesday, Scottsdale ambassador Jack Thomas, 66, sat on the sidelines of the Surprise courts catching up with friends.

His doctor had drained fluid from Thomas' knee the day prior and ordered at least a week of rest.

"It's fun to go out there, even if I can't play," Thomas said. "I'll have some coffee, sit out there and watch."