Basque Pelota

Family of Basque handball / racket games played off a wall — the parent of jai alai.

👥1 per team🌤both
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What is Basque Pelota?

Basque pelota is a family of court games played off a stone wall, using hand, wooden paddle (paleta), racket or cesta. Variants include mano (bare hand), paleta, xare and cesta punta (jai alai). It is a fixture of Basque culture on both sides of the French-Spanish border, with world championships every four years.

Quick facts

Category

Ball Sports

Type

Individual

Players

1 per team

Where played

both

Country of origin

🇪🇸 Spain

Estimated origin

Medieval Basque Country (French and Spanish)

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-20.verified