Pickleball is a paddle sport that derives from the combination of several sports such as tennis, ping-pong and badminton. You can play it both indoors and outdoors and it can be played singles or doubles. Pickleball is played with a paddle and a perforated polymer ball.
The court that it is played on is similar to a badminton court, measuring 20 x 44 feet. There are currently over 15,000 courts in the U.S and as of 2018 there are over 3.3 million Pickleball players.
Here is our guide for beginners on everything you need to know about playing Pickleball including how to play it, terminology, tips and much more.
How Is Pickleball Played?
The games are played best two out of three and they go up to 11 points.
The Serve – The start of the game begins with a serve which is usually done by the player on the right. It is custom for the player serving the ball to say the score beforehand. When serving the player must be behind the line and he must hit the ball underhanded.
For the serve to be considered valid it must cross the net without hitting it and it must not land in the Kitchen. If the ball hits the net but still manages to land on the opponents square then it is called a “let” and the person reserves. If the ball hits the net without crossing or it lands in the Kitchen area then the opponents get one point or a fault. (For those who play ping pong you might have started seeing the similarities)
Double Bounce – Once the ball has been served, the opposing team must let the ball bounce at least once on their side then the team who served it must let it bounce once on their side too. Once this is done then both teams are allowed to hit the ball in the air without letting it bounce on their side, this type of shot is called a volley.
Faults – When a player makes a mistake and breaks the rules which gives the opposing team a point. Note: Only the serving team can score a point.
Here are the reason’s why a fault might occur:
- The ball hits your side twice
- A player hits the ball twice
- A player steps into the Kitchen while trying to hit a volley
- Both teammates hit the ball
- The ball hits the net
- The ball is played out of bounds
Pickleball Terminology
Here are some of the most common terms used in Pickleball:
Volley: To hit the ball in the air without letting it bounce on your side first.
Kitchen: This is the box in the middle that is on both sides which is the no volley zone. Players are not allowed to step on the Kitchen if they’re trying to hit a volley.
Fault: When a player breaks a rule which gives the opposing team a point if they’re serving. Ex: A player hitting a volley while stepping into the Kitchen.
Ace: A serve that isn’t returned by the opposing player.
Approach Shot: When you hit the ball as your approaching the net.
Baseline: The line all the way at the back of the court.
Backcourt: The court area that’s a few feet from the baseline.
Bounce It: Someone usually tells their partner to let the ball bounce if they think the ball might land out of bounds.
Carry: Hitting the ball in a way that it sort of gets carried with the paddle as it’s moving forward.
Champion Shot: A ball that hits the floor twice in the No Volley Zone.
These are just a few of the important ones. To get a full list of all the terms check this list: http://www.pickleball.net/learn-to-play/glossary-terms.html
Tips for Pickleball
1. Hit the ball with the paddle from the side rather than upwards.
A lot of beginners make the mistake of hitting the ball with the paddle head straight towards the ground instead of the paddle head being towards the side to be perpendicular towards your wrist.
When the paddle head is positioned towards the ground this causes the ball to pop up and bounce too high.
2. Be careful with your aim
If you notice your opponent is returning your attacks twice as hard then it might be because of where your balls are landing. What we mean is that if you send the ball straight at your opponents paddle then all they have to do is hold it out and move it right before it hits.
Instead of aiming straight at your opponent try aiming it to their sides. Here is a video explanation down below:
3. Communicate with your partner
If you’re playing doubles then having good communication with your partner is a must. It doesn’t matter how skilled either you or your partner is if you can’t communicate good enough.
Here are some tips:
- Call your shots. A lot of people lose points when the ball lands mid court and they hesitate cause they’re not sure if their partner plans on hitting it and what ends up happening is that nobody hits it.
- Tell your partner if the incoming ball is in or out. When you see the ball coming towards you, in your mind you’re ready to hit the ball no matter what. When the ball is landing on your partners side if you see it coming in or out then let your partner know.
- For more strategies and tips for doubles check out this article: https://www.usapa.org/strategies-for-doubles/
These are just a few of the important ones. We can write an entire article on them and we will but for now you can see more tips here: https://www.usapa.org/more-playing-tips/
Places to Play Pickleball
So let’s go over where can you actually play Pickleball:
Local Parks
Every state in the U.S and even some parts of Canada has a Pickleball court that you can use. USAPA has a website that can show you all the courts around you by simply putting in your zip code. Check it out here: https://www.places2play.org/
Local Gyms:
There are quite a few gyms that have their own Pickleball courts. As the sport becomes more and more popular a lot more gyms will hopefully add their own Pickleball courts. You can see which gyms have them with the same link I mentioned up above.
Colleges/High Schools:
If you’re in high school then chances are that your school might offer Pickleball as part of an after school program or a physical education class. If you’re a college student then quite a few colleges offer Pickleball as part of their intramural sports.
Pickleball Tournaments
If you’ve been playing Pickleball for a while and you’re getting tired of beating all the local competition then maybe you need a step up in competition. There are several Pickleball tournaments that occur throughout the year in the United States.
The divisions are usually divided by age and perceived skill levels. You can use this website to find upcoming tournaments: https://www.pickleballtournaments.com/pbt_main.pl
The largest tournament (the national championship) to date was held in Arizona with nearly 1300+ Pickleball users competing.
History Of Pickleball
Pickleball was invented back in 1965 by two dads – Joel, Bill, and Barney. The story goes that they where at Joel’s house one day and the kids were bored. They wanted to find something fun for their kids to do. Joel’s home had a badminton court but they couldn’t find the badminton rackets.
Not giving up on keeping their kids entertained they instead used ping pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball instead. After a couple of days they lowered the net more after they realized how good the ball bounced on the surface.
Quickly realizing how fun this game was and the potential for it they built a company with the purpose of expanding the sport. The media quickly picked up on the sport and started publishing articles on it which greatly increased it’s popularity. By 1990, Pickleball was being played in every state in the United States.
That just about completes our guide on Pickleball for beginners. We hope we showed you everything you needed to know and hopefully peaked your interest in it a bit more. As our stats up above mentioned today there are nearly 3.3 million users. You can expect that number to keep increasing as more and more people learn what Pickleball is and how to play. Have fun!