WHAT IS PICKLEBALL AND WHY IS IT SO POPULAR?
PickleBall is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis & ping-pong.
Players use a solid face paddle/racquet and hit a small plastic ball with holes.
There are players of all ages and skill levels.
Rules are simple, making it a great intro sport.
Its also challenging, fast-paced, and competitive game when people become more experienced at playing.
There are many reasons for PickleBall’s popularity in recent years.
Here are just some reasons why the USA PickleBall Association (USAPA) calls the sport, “highly contagious”:
Playing PickleBall is a Healthy Social Activity
Looking for some great exercise for your mind and body, playing PickleBall allows you to work on your balance, agility, reflexes, and hand-eye coordination without putting excessive strains on your body.
Older Athletes
PickleBall is a wonderful alternative for older players who used to play tennis, but have physical limitations such as hip, shoulder, knee, or other joint problems.
PickleBall is Perfect for Athletic Clubs and Wellness Centers
If you are looking to add an exciting, new program to your Athletic Club, PickleBall is an affordable and popular choice.
Because PickleBall can be played both indoors and outdoors, it’s an accessible option for recreational facilities of all types.
Players use a solid face paddle/racquet and hit a small plastic ball with holes.
There are players of all ages and skill levels.
Rules are simple, making it a great intro sport.
Its also challenging, fast-paced, and competitive game when people become more experienced at playing.
There are many reasons for PickleBall’s popularity in recent years.
Here are just some reasons why the USA PickleBall Association (USAPA) calls the sport, “highly contagious”:
Playing PickleBall is a Healthy Social Activity
Looking for some great exercise for your mind and body, playing PickleBall allows you to work on your balance, agility, reflexes, and hand-eye coordination without putting excessive strains on your body.
Older Athletes
PickleBall is a wonderful alternative for older players who used to play tennis, but have physical limitations such as hip, shoulder, knee, or other joint problems.
PickleBall is Perfect for Athletic Clubs and Wellness Centers
If you are looking to add an exciting, new program to your Athletic Club, PickleBall is an affordable and popular choice.
Because PickleBall can be played both indoors and outdoors, it’s an accessible option for recreational facilities of all types.
Basic Rules 101 & 2022 RuleBook
Mens Pro Game Highlights
Terminology
- Baseline – The line at the back of the PickleBall Court - 22 Feet from the NET
- Centerline – The line bisecting the service courts that extends from the non-volley line to the baseline
- Crosscourt – The opponent’s court diagonally opposite a player’s
- Dink – A Soft Shot, made with the paddle, hit so that it just clears the net and drops into the non-volley zone- Can be off the bounce anywhere in the NVZ or taken in the air while leaning into the NVZ with your feet clearly behind the NVZ/Kitchen line.
- Fault – An infringement of the rules that ends a rally
- Foot fault – Stepping over the line into the Kitchen / NVZ while volleying a ball or failure to keep both feet behind the baseline with at least one foot in contact with the ground or floor when the paddle contacts the ball while serving
- Half volley – A type of hit where the player hits the ball immediately after it has bounced like a Chip Shot or Low One Hop in Baseball
- NVZ – The NVZ non-volley zone is 7FT from the net on both sides, often referred to as the Kitchen
- Lob – Hitting the ball in a high arc to the back of the opponent’s court-ideally designed to clear an opponent who has advanced toward the net
- Let Serve is Legal – A serve that skims the top of the net and lands in the proper service court.
- Poach – In doubles - to cross over into your partner’s area to make a play on the ball & surprise opponent.
- Rally Exchange – Continuous play that occurs after the serve and before a fault
- Serve – An underhanded arcing stroke used to put the ball into play.
- Service Courts – The area on either side of the centerline
- Server Number – When playing doubles, either #1 or #2, Call the Score out 9-9-2 - the 2 is the server number.
- Sideline – The line at the side of the court denoting in and out of bounds
- Side Outs – Only occurs when the rally ends and the defensive team - the non serving team wins the rally & results in zero points but they exhaust each serve of the serving team.
- Time Out – There are two time outs for games to 11 or 15 points and three time outs for games to 21points- each time out lasts one minute
- Volley – Hitting the ball before it touches the ground out of the air.
Traditional PICKLEBALL Scoring
PickleBall is a great way to both socialize and get in a competitive yet fun workout.
But who wants to compete without keeping score?
This is a brief introduction on how to keep score in PickleBall.
PickleBall can be played as singles or doubles.
Since doubles is played more often and has nearly the same rules as singles, we will talk about doubles scoring first.
Pickleball is usually played to eleven points, win by two.
Serving
Every rally begins with a serve. Before each serve, the server should call out the score by saying his or her team’s score first, then the opposing team’s score, and then his or her server number, which may either be one or two.
In doubles, each player on a team gets a chance to serve.
Only the serving team can score a point by winning a rally.
The player in the right service court will always serve first for a team.
If the serving team scores a point, the two players switch places so the first server now serves from the left service court.
The serving team will continue switching places until they lose 2 Rallies.
When the serving team loses the first rally, the second server will now serve from his current position.
Once the serving team loses the 2nd Server rally, the opposing team now gets their two chances to serve.
This is called a side out. Its like Volleyball was back in the old days.
Scoring Example
The score here is 4 to 3 with the serving team in the lead. The first server is still serving. The score is called out as “4, 3, 1.” The serving term loses the rally, so now the second server will serve and call out the score as “4, 3, 2”. The serving team wins the rally, so the serving team will switch places. The second server will call out the score as “5, 3, 2” and serve. The serving team loses the rally this time, so it is sideout and now the opposing team has two chances to serve. The first server on the opposing team will call out the score as, “3, 5, 1” before serving.
**Exception at Beginning of Game
The only exception to both players serving is with the very first server of a game. The very first server of the game still serves from the right service court, but he or she starts as the 2nd server to not give the first team serving an unfair advantage. The very first score of the game is called out “0, 0, 2.” This means that as soon as the serving team faults, sideout is called, and the other team gets to serve.
Singles
In singles play, each player only serves once. Once a player loses the rally, it is sideout. It is only necessary to call out the score during singles and not the server’s number. It is important to keep track of which service court you serve from. If your score is an even number, you should be serving from the right service court. If your score is odd, you should be serving from the left service court.
But who wants to compete without keeping score?
This is a brief introduction on how to keep score in PickleBall.
PickleBall can be played as singles or doubles.
Since doubles is played more often and has nearly the same rules as singles, we will talk about doubles scoring first.
Pickleball is usually played to eleven points, win by two.
Serving
Every rally begins with a serve. Before each serve, the server should call out the score by saying his or her team’s score first, then the opposing team’s score, and then his or her server number, which may either be one or two.
In doubles, each player on a team gets a chance to serve.
Only the serving team can score a point by winning a rally.
The player in the right service court will always serve first for a team.
If the serving team scores a point, the two players switch places so the first server now serves from the left service court.
The serving team will continue switching places until they lose 2 Rallies.
When the serving team loses the first rally, the second server will now serve from his current position.
Once the serving team loses the 2nd Server rally, the opposing team now gets their two chances to serve.
This is called a side out. Its like Volleyball was back in the old days.
Scoring Example
The score here is 4 to 3 with the serving team in the lead. The first server is still serving. The score is called out as “4, 3, 1.” The serving term loses the rally, so now the second server will serve and call out the score as “4, 3, 2”. The serving team wins the rally, so the serving team will switch places. The second server will call out the score as “5, 3, 2” and serve. The serving team loses the rally this time, so it is sideout and now the opposing team has two chances to serve. The first server on the opposing team will call out the score as, “3, 5, 1” before serving.
**Exception at Beginning of Game
The only exception to both players serving is with the very first server of a game. The very first server of the game still serves from the right service court, but he or she starts as the 2nd server to not give the first team serving an unfair advantage. The very first score of the game is called out “0, 0, 2.” This means that as soon as the serving team faults, sideout is called, and the other team gets to serve.
Singles
In singles play, each player only serves once. Once a player loses the rally, it is sideout. It is only necessary to call out the score during singles and not the server’s number. It is important to keep track of which service court you serve from. If your score is an even number, you should be serving from the right service court. If your score is odd, you should be serving from the left service court.