Pelota

Pilota in Basque and Catalan, pelota in Spanish, or pelote in French, is a name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat (pala), or a basket propulsor, against a wall (frontón in Spanish, frontoi in Basque, frontó in Catalan) or, more traditionally, with two teams face to face separated by a line on the ground or a net.

Their roots can be traced to the Greek and other ancient cultures, but in Europe they all derive from real tennis. Today, pelota is widely played in several countries: in the Basque Country and their neighbours; in Valencia where it is considered the national sport; and in rural areas of Ireland, Belgium, North of Italy, Mexico, Argentina and other American countries.

Recently, some initiatives have organised pelota championships in an attempt to unify the different modalities played all around the world, with fixed ball weights, rules and court sizes. There are, of course, criticisms on this, since the original traits of each particular style would be lost. The matches between Basque and Valencian teams have always been the most leveled ones, due to the quality and versatility of their players.