All eyes are on the ball as two doubles teams with paddles engage in a fast-paced, back-and-forth rally over a net on a court in Waikiki. Cheers erupt from one side after scoring.

Pickleball, a cross between tennis, badminton and pingpong, is taking off in Hawaii, according to Annette Cottle, USA Pickleball Association ambassador for the Diamond Head area, with courts all across Oahu and on Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island.

“It’s very social,” she said. “We all laugh. I have so much fun, and I think that’s what draws people once they play.”

Pickleball is played by singles or doubles on a badminton court measuring 20 by 44 feet, with a modified tennis net. Players wield lightweight composite paddles that are bigger than a pingpong paddle but smaller than a tennis racket to bat around a perforated plastic ball similar to a Wiffle Ball.

As in tennis, the ball can be volleyed or bounce once while in play. Other rules: Only underhand serves are allowed, and an area near the net called “the kitchen” is off limits to volley shots.

The sport is easier on the joints than tennis, according to Theresa Mitchell, 59, a self-taught player.

“There’s a lot of strategy,” she said. “Once you get good at it, it’s like a game of chess. It takes four or five shots to get the point. … So it’s a game of patience more than power.”

A core group of 20 to 25 players meets daily at two courts at Fort DeRussy Armed Forces Recreation Center, oftentimes with out-of-town visitors joining in.

“When I first started playing, they said, ‘You’re going to find this very addicting,’” Mitchell said. “And it is.’”

Cottle, 59, of Diamond Head, was a longtime tennis player who converted to pickleball three years ago. She said she is so hooked that she packs her paddle when traveling so she can play wherever she goes. (Pickleball paddles can cost anywhere from about $20 to well over $100.)

USA Pickleball Association ambassadors, volunteers who promote the sport, also organize games regularly at courts in Mililani, Kailua and Waimanalo district parks, at Koko Head Community Center in Hawaii Kai and at Waialua Community Center. Some courts are permanently lined, while others are set up with portable nets and taped lines.

Pilahi Gregg teaches students from 10 to 91 years old how to play pickleball at Kailua District Park on Monday and Wednesday evenings.

“Good friendships are made on the court,” she said. “It’s just a good, fun game.”

Pickleball was invented in the 1960s by Bill Bell, former U.S. Rep. Joel Pritchard and Barney McCallum of Washington state when they needed to find a game for their families to play one summer day on Bainbridge Island. Improvising, they used what was on hand: pingpong paddles and a Wiffle ball.

The game caught on, eventually leading to the formation of the USA Pickleball Association in 2005 to promote the sport. There are an estimated 2.4 million players in the nation, according to the Sports &Fitness Industry Association.

Why “pickleball”? The USAPA says there are two different accounts of the origin of the name: one is that it is a reference to the “pickle boat,” the slowest boat in rowing; the other story is that it was named after the Pritchards’ dog, Pickles, who would chase after the ball.

To learn more, visit usapa.org.