ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — According to Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Albany’s first pickleball courts are close to being finished. The City of Albany Department of General Services, in tandem with the City of Albany Department of Recreation, is converting old tennis courts at Capital Hills to deliver the first public pickleball courts in the City of Albany.

New nets are to be installed, as well as finishing the paint job on the new courts are the next orders of business. These two tasks are to be completed in the coming weeks, weather permitting.

According to USA Pickleball, pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, not far from Seattle. Three fathers, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum are credited with creating the game, to cure their children’s boredom one summer.

Pickleball can be played as singles or doubles, similarly to tennis, and incorporates elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. It can be played indoors or outdoors, and is quickly growing in not only the U.S., but internationally as well.