What is PaddleSmash? The burgeoning spinoff of Pickleball

Published: October 21, 2023

Recently featured on Shark Tank, PaddleSmash is a Utah-based startup trying to make its mark in outdoor games.

What is PaddleSmash? Where did it come from?

Here at MOMUS, we are all for the fun. So we are delighted to see this new smashup sport from Tim Swindle and Scott Brown entrepreneurs and engineer/inventor Joe Bingham. PaddleSmash is a new outdoor game combining Pickleball and Spikeball into one. Joe Bingham developed the game to entertain his pickleball-loving family who were running into challenges with overcrowding of pickleball courts. Since his family also enjoyed Spikeball, the idea to combine the two was born. After Tim and Scott were introduced to Joe, they moved quickly to create a version of PaddleSmash that is durable, portable, and ready for the masses.

The game is looking like it’s on its way to being a success. Launching just over a yer ago on October 1, 2022, they have been featured on the Today Show and now Shark Tank. In their Shark Tank pitch, the sport got great publicity with Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec wanting to try it out, ending with a bidding war between Robert and Mark and Mr. Wonderful. They ultimately went with Mark and Robert’s offer. Can’t wait to see how this sport grows.

How do you play PaddleSmash?

The game combines pickleball and Spikeball into one game. Similar to Pickleball, PaddelSmash games are played to 11 points, teams must win by 2 points. Gaems can be play 1 on 1, 2 on 1, or most popular with two teams of two.

For 2 vs 2, teammates stand on opposite sides of the court. The server must hit the ball hard enough that it bounces in the court and over the net to their teammate. Once the serve is received, they have three shots to get it back in the court. During the gameplay a player is allowed two consecutive hits, both team members must hit the ball at least once in the hit sequence, and the ball must hit the court and bounce over the net to be considered a hit.

After the first team has made a successful hit, the second team has three shots to get back into the court. The hit sequences go back and forth with each team taking turns trying to get the ball back into the court.

If the team playing fails to hit the court and bounce over the net or allows the ball to hit the ground, then the other team scores a point. Unlike pickleball, a team can score regardless if they were the serving team or not (rally scoring). Serving rotates clockwise after each point.

For more information, you can check out this tutorial from the PaddleSmash site.