Experience The Fun of PickleBall
The sport of Pickleball is taking the world by storm ! Great for all ages and all abilities. If you haven’t heard of it yet – you’ll be sure to see more emerging about this sport across Australia – it’s gaining high traction at all skill levels.
Play and Rules:
Although Pickleball is played in a court, the rules of the game more closely resemble table tennis or badminton than traditional tennis.
Here are 9 simple rules for beginners.
Rule #1: Each point begins with a serve.
The pickleball game – and each point – starts with the serve. The player on the right side of the court, facing their opponents, starts the serve. You serve diagonally to your opponent, into the right or left service area: The serve must clear the “Kitchen” (including the line) to count.
Rule #2: Your serve must be underhand.
A pickleball serve must be hit with an underhand stroke with contact below the waist. Your arm must move in an upward arc when you strike the ball. You can hit the ball out of the air (as most players do). Or you can drop the ball on the ground and hit. There is no “let” in pickleball – meaning if a serve hits the net, there’s no redo. The ball is played as it lands.
Rule #3: Each point continues until a fault.
After the serve, gameplay continues until a “fault” is committed. A fault ends a point. In pickleball, there are basically 3 types of faults: · The serve does not clear the kitchen (including the line) · A shot is hit out of bounds – landing behind the baseline or outside the sideline · A shot is hit into the net.
Rule #4: You can’t volley in the kitchen.
The 7 ft zone on each side marks the “non-volley zone,” or kitchen. This means you can never hit a volley—which is a shot hit out of the air—while in the Kitchen or even if your feet are touching the Kitchen line. It also means no part of the body or paddle can be GROUNDED (touching the ground in or on the line of the kitchen) at the time of contact with a volley or during the follow-through.
Rule #5: You can hit groundstrokes in the kitchen.
If your opponent hits a short shot landing in the kitchen, what’s called a dink, you can enter and hit from the kitchen.
Rule #6: The ball must bounce on both sides before either team can volley.
Before any player can hit a shot out of the air (a volley), the ball must bounce at least once on each side. This means if your partner is serving, and you start up at the kitchen, you’re in a dangerous position.
Rule #7: You only win points on your serve.
In Pickleball, you only win points on your serve, and you continue serving until you lose a point. After winning each point on your serve, you switch sides with your partner and serve to the other opponent.
Rule #8: Both partners serve in a turn.
In each turn, both players (in doubles) get the opportunity to serve. And in pickleball scoring, you’ll hear players announce three numbers, “Zero, zero… two.” What is that third number? It tracks which of the two players on a team has the serve.
Rule #9: First team to either 15 or 11 points wins (pre-determined)—but you must win by 2.
Equipment:
The paddle is similar to a ping-pong paddle. It’s solid wood or other material like a fiberglass composite or graphite. Different players prefer different types of paddles. The wood is more traditional and a bit heavier than the others. Your best bet is to choose one paddle to start with as you learn the pickleball ropes. Our Club provides bats to use for startup players. As you get more into the sport, you can try the others to see if you like them better. The ball looks like a wiffle ball in that it’s plastic and has holes on it, but the plastic is tougher to withstand the hits and bounces. There are indoor and outdoor pickleball balls, and they come in a variety of colors to choose from.
