In 2025, a Sports & Fitness Industry Association report said that pickleball was the fastest-growing sport in the United States of America for four years in succession. Although the sport hasn’t really caught on over here in any meaningful way, padel has become all the rage over the last few months.
People are desperate for new sports to come to the fore and give them something else to do with their time, so what should we all be looking out for in 2026 that might well be the coming force in the world of sport?
There is one that is already popular enough in the US to warrant tournaments and leagues being set up. It’s called Roundnet, although it is better known as Spoikeball – but what is it all about?
Roundnet: A Bit of Background
As is so often the case, Roundnet is not a new sport. In actual fact, it was created in 1989 by a guy named Jeff Knurek, but has become increasingly popular in recent times thanks to a rebranding of the sport by a company called Spikeball Inc. The result of that is that you might have heard of Spikeball whilst Roundnet remains something that you don’t know much about, such is the power of branding.
It was actually in 2008 that Spikeball Inc first launched their equipment, with other manufacturers having jumped on the bandwagon in the years since to mean that you can get various versions of what is essentially the same equipment.
The main materials needed are a round trampoline-type net, with a small ball that has a 12-inch circumference. That is it when it comes to equipment, with the only other thing that is needed being plenty of space in which to play the game. That is why you will often see players at the park in the summer months, where the cross between handball, volleyball and foursquare has plenty of room in which to operate.
The rules and regulations of the game are laid out by the Spikeball Roundnet Association, which was formed in 2012 as the National Spikeball Association. The growth of social media has helped the game to develop.
How to Play Spikeball
The game is played using a round net in the middle, hence its original name, with two teams. If it is a two-versus-two game, then two players are on each team, whilst a three-versus-three matchup will see three people on each team. In two-v-two games, players are positioned around the net at ninety-degree intervals, so that no player is standing directly opposite a teammate. The serve initiates play, with one player hitting the ball down onto the net so that it bounces up towards the opposing team, who then have up to three touches amongst themselves to return it back down onto the net.
There is no set direction of play once the rally has begun, meaning that the net can be attacked from any angle, which adds a frantic, unpredictable quality to the game. Points are scored when the opposing team fails to return the ball onto the net within their three touches, or when the ball hits the rim rather than the net itself. Games are typically played to twenty-one points, with a team required to win by two clear points, whilst matches are often best of three sets. The scoring system will feel immediately familiar to anyone who has spent time around volleyball or badminton, which perhaps explains why the sport has found a ready audience in those communities.
@pitballgames Have you heard of Spikeball? 👀 It’s like volleyball got a glow-up and turned into the ultimate 360° showdown. Fast, fun, and seriously addictive. You in? #spikeball #spikeballhighlights #spikeballislife #pitball #pureskill #crazy #sportok #game #fyp ♬ original sound – pitballgames
The three-versus-three format operates along broadly similar lines, though the additional player on each side changes the tactical characteristics of the game. With more bodies around the net, rallies tend to be longer and the defensive options more varied. This is the format that is often favoured at more casual, social occasions where getting as many people involved as possible is the priority. Whether you are playing two-versus-two or three-versus-three, the absence of a fixed court boundary is one of the more interesting aspects of the game. Players can move in any direction they choose, which allows for exciting interplay.
A particularly fierce spike can send opponents scrambling a considerable distance from the net before they can attempt their return, after which they then need to get back towards the net to remain part of the play. The Spikeball Roundnet Association has done a reasonable job of standardising the competitive side of the game, with regional tournaments feeding into national championships in the United States and a growing number of equivalent structures beginning to emerge in Europe. Germany and the Netherlands have been amongst the more enthusiastic adopters on this side of the Atlantic, and there are signs that organised competition is beginning to take root in the UK.
