Sports fans worldwide often adapt games to fit their space and abilities to create something new. The latest example of this, pickleball, has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S. and Canada.
Invented in 1965, it’s a combination of tennis, badminton, and table tennis that can be fun for all ages. This is why so many people are now wondering how to play pickleball.
But while the game can seem familiar, not everything is simple in pickleball. Several rules have been adapted from its parent sports to make it accessible for casual and professional players. Let’s look at the rules.
Pickleball Rules
Pickleball rules make the game entertaining and competitive at the same time.
Serving Rules
Serving in pickleball is similar to tennis. You must hit the ball diagonally over the net into the opposing half of the court without hitting the net or without the ball landing outside of the volley area. Likewise, you can’t serve from inside the court.
So, how do you serve in pickleball?
As with tennis, you stand with your feet behind the baseline. Then, strike the ball with the paddle using an underhanded serve. The paddle contact has to happen under the server’s waistline.
Pickleball also allows players to use a drop serve. To execute a correct drop serve, let the ball drop to the ground and hit it after the bounce. Note that you can’t throw the ball at the ground or throw it up to get a higher bounce. However, drop serves negate the “paddle under the waistline” rule.
Interestingly, pickleball doesn’t let you repeat the serve if you fault. You can only repeat it if your serve hits the net and the ball lands on the other side of the court.
While pickleball may not seem complicated from a serving standpoint, players must be aware of a specific serving sequence when playing a regulation pickleball match.
The Serving Sequence
Every pickleball player gets to serve until they commit a fault. This rule also applies to both singles and doubles games. Once a player commits a fault, their partner can serve until they commit a fault, thus conceding the serve to the other team.
There is an exception. At the beginning of each game, the team that serves first must choose one player to serve. If the player faults, they pass the service to the other team, and the serving sequence begins again.
After scoring a point, the server must switch sides (left to right or right to left) to serve. But if a player on a doubles team loses their serve, the partner can serve from the same side of the court.
Another quirky serving rule when learning how to play pickleball involves singles matches. The server must serve from the court’s right side if the score is even. If the score is odd, they must switch to the left side of the court.
The Double Bounce Rule
After serving the ball, the receiving team must let it bounce once before returning it. However, the serving team must also allow the ball to bounce once on their side of the court before returning it.
Once the double bounce sequence is over, players can volley the ball or continue hitting it on a bounce.
Scoring Rules
Now that you know how to start a match, let’s turn to scoring. Pickleball has an interesting scoring system called a side-out. Only the serving team can score points by causing the opposing team to commit a fault.
If the serving team commits a fault, the receiving team isn’t awarded any points. Because this can make games last long, many pickleball games are played on a first-to 11 points system with a mandatory two-point victory margin.
However, tournament games can be played to 15 or 21 points, with at least a two-point victory margin.
Volley Rules
You must also understand the volley rules to learn how to play pickleball. Players can’t hit volleys from inside the non-volley zone. It’s the marked area seven feet from the net. Because of this rule, pickleball doesn’t have net smashing like in tennis or table tennis.
In addition, players can’t step inside the non-volley area of the court and aren’t allowed to step on the line when executing a volley. You can also cause players to commit faults if you get them to step inside the non-volley area after hitting a volley from a permitted spot on the court.
Of course, the non-volley zone isn’t completely off-limits. Players can step inside it and hit the ball, as long as they aren’t volleying or stepping inside after hitting a volley from further back. Likewise, you can volley a ball in the non-volley zone as long as your feet are behind the line.
Players with long arms can use this to their advantage to reach close to the net and spike a slow drop ball. But this can be a risky move. One wrong move or too much momentum can cause you to step inside the non-volley zone and commit a fault.
Know Your Pickleball Faults
Since pickleball is more about making the opponent commit mistakes than scoring, it’s essential to understand faults. As a server, you can adjust your strategy and shots to make receivers commit certain mistakes and vice versa.
Here is the list of faults in pickleball.
- Letting the ball bounce twice on your side of the court before striking
- Hitting the ball out of bounds
- Volleying from inside the non-volley zone (also called the kitchen)
- Hitting the ball into the net when returning or serving
- Volleying the ball without allowing one bounce per courtside after a serve
- Hitting a serve out of bounds
- Hitting a serve in the non-volley zone line
- Touching the net or either post with the paddle, body, or clothing during play
- Hitting a player or their clothing with the ball while the ball is in play
- Stepping into the non-volley zone or touching its line after hitting a volley
- Not executing the serve correctly
What You Need to Play Pickleball
Pickleball can be played indoors and outdoors. But other than making sure you have shoes suitable for the surface, the gear requirements are pretty much the same for either location. You need a special pickleball paddle and a plastic ball, and you’re good to go.
Alternatively, you can try your luck on a badminton court when you can’t find a court. Badminton and pickleball courts are nearly identical in size and markings. Thus, you need to lower the net to a height of 34 inches in the middle, and you can start swatting the ball with your friends.
If you’re a beginner, you may want to start with a couple of singles matches to get a feel for the game and get comfortable with the rules. The court is small, and positioning can be chaotic in a doubles game.
Although you’re not looking at the same ball speeds as tennis or ping pong, the small court makes for a fast-paced double-match experience.
Are Training Camps Worth It?
Pickleball is less taxing on the body than many racquet or paddle sports. Therefore, it’s something you can get into at any age. That doesn’t mean it won’t help to work on the fundamentals, understand strategies, or have people to play with wherever you are.
Getting involved in amateur or semi-professional leagues and communities makes it easy to find partners and learn how to play pickleball. Many pro pickleball players run training camps and workshops all over the country.
And given the low physical and financial entry bars, it’s worth learning about the game from people with years of experience playing it at various levels.
Going Pro in Pickleball
Pickleball, Washington State’s new official sport as of 2021, is governed by three major organizations.
- The Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP)
- The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA)
- Major League Pickleball (MLP)
All organizations are fighting for supremacy in the sport. Usually, most pro players participate in tournaments across the three leagues. But teams and sponsors may offer players exclusive contracts ensuring greater exposure and sponsorships for taking their talents to a single league.
The good news is that the sport is growing fast in popularity. It has already attracted attention and involvement from celebrities, professional athletes, apparel brands, and other sponsors. And with increased interest overseas, pickleball could even become an Olympic event.
Mind Your Environment
If there’s one thing that people don’t like about pickleball, it’s the noise. Striking plastic balls with wooden paddles over and over can get noisy. So unlike tennis or badminton, pickleball is the kind of game best reserved for regulation courts and not makeshift neighborhood courts.
Grab a friend, a ball, and two paddles, and discover how to play pickleball. You can make it as casual or competitive as you want once you get comfortable playing it correctly. It’s one of the cheapest and most fun sports you can play indoors and outdoors.
In my college days, I could be found acing serves on the tennis court, honing my skills and leading my team to victory. But life has a funny way of serving up surprises, and following a back injury, my tennis days came to a halt.
Yet, in the midst of adversity, pickleball emerged as my beacon of hope. The sport gave me a chance to continue my love for racquet games, and without the physical stress that tennis put on my body. I've traded the sound of a tennis ball's pop for the unique clink of a pickleball on a paddle, and honestly, I've never looked back.
Now, I'm not just creating beautiful designs and innovative visuals; I'm also mastering the art of the dink shot and the thrill of the slam in pickleball. My journey serves as a testament to the fact that no matter what curveballs life throws your way, there's always a way to adjust your swing. Let's connect on and off the court!
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