Paleta frontón is a wall-based racquet sport that originated in Peru in the mid-20th century. It is extremely popular in Peru where over 2000 players are known to competitively play the sport.
Paleta frontón is played with a wooden or fiberglass paddle, and a small rubber ball that weighs 43 grams. The playing court has a wall on the front that is 5m high and 6m wide. The floor is rectangular in shape that is 12m long and 7.6m wide. The floor is split into two halves horizontally; the half closer to the wall is called the service zone. The half farther from the wall is further split into two halves vertically, where each player is positioned at the start of each play.
The sport can be played in singles or doubles format. Each play starts with a serve. The serve has to land on the adjacent rear box beyond the service zone. The play continues with exchange of returns. The ball is allowed to bounce once before it is returned. All returns have to directly land on the front wall. Points are awarded for players if the opponent is unable to fairly return the ball. A player or team with the most points at the end of the match is the winner.
Similar Sports
- International Fronton — played by striking a ball onto a wall with bare hands, using rules adapted from many wall ball sports.
- Basque Pelota — the name for a variety of court sports that involves hitting a ball against a wall using the hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket.
Related Pages
- Sport in Peru
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports