Storyline: Easy-to-play pickleball attracts following in China [Voice_over] Fever for a new sport is taking over China-pickleball. A cousin of tennis and table-tennis, pickleball uses a perforated plastic ball, which is slow and easy to hit. And the racket is similar to a table-tennis padel, but larger, with more surface area. The ease in which novice players can pick up the sport has made it wildly popular with people of all ages. [Sound_bite] Zeng Lingjing, pickleball lover: "It's very interesting. I usually play pickleball with my friends." [Voice_over] The cost of a court in Beijing is about 28 U.S. dollars per hour, with players highly advised to book reservations in advance. The operator of one pickleball court in the city said people have been renting out courts for longer blocks of time recently. [Sound_bite] Yuan He, operator, pickleball court: "Especially in the second half of this year, one court was rented out for three to four hours. But now it's for five to six hours. At the weekends, all courts usually are packed." [Voice_over] Data from Chinese tech company Meituan shows that searches for "pickleball courts" increased by almost 500 percent this July and August compared to last year, while sales of pickleball accessories in H1 rose by over 1,300 percent compared to last year. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]