In the South-West and particularly in the Basque Country, its land of choice, pelota is the inheritor of the game of paume which was very famous in the Middle Ages. Hossegor was the first French town to build a jaï alaï, a particularly long fronton (56 m) where cesta punta is played.

When the president of the International Federation of Basque Pelota was looking for a site to organise the 1958 World Championships of cesta punta, Hossegor applied and hosted the competition. Half a century later, the jaï-alaï still resounds with the clacking of the leather pelota and generations of young people have confronted each other on this fronton. As for Soorts, it has equipped itself with a trinquet, making the town a veritable Mecca for the ball game.