Something strange is happening in Missouri and Illinois. Suddenly...out of nowhere it seems everyone is playing pickleball. Lots and lots of pickleball.

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I have been an avid tennis player for years, but unfortunately haven't been in condition to play recently. Still, I tend to pay attention when I'm driving by local tennis courts in Hannibal and Quincy. The other day I was cruising down one of our streets bordering some tennis courts and noticed there were people playing, but it wasn't tennis. It was...

Pickleball

Instead of tennis rackets, they had paddles and they were laughing and having so much fun it appeared. What is all this rage about pickles and balls? I knew I had to find out more. In its most basic form, pickleball combines tennis, badminton and ping pong.

It's not my imagination either. As NPR and many other media places have shared this year, pickleball is America's fastest growing sport. It gets worse...or better depending on your perspective. Front Office Sports claims that pickleball is now everyone's favorite sport. Amazing. My favorite sport changed and I didn't even know it. I'm always the last to know.

This sport which has taken over in the same way aliens did in Invasion of the Body Snatchers now has its own official US league. Go figure. It's even attracted former professional tennis players like Sam Querrey who's now a professional pickleball player.

Will I someday be shopping for a pickleball racket and heading out to the tennis courts along 24th Street? It seems inevitable since apparently it's now my (and everyone else's) favorite sport.

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