World Champion Pelota player Jean Urruty pictured at Saint Jean de Luz, France. 'Pelota' in Spanish, 'pilota' in Basque and Catalan, or 'pelote' in French (from Latin pila) is a name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat (Argentine paleta and pala corta), or a basket propulsor, against a wall, 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. One of the fastest ball games in the world.