What is Pickleball and How Do You Play? The Best Pickleball Guide for 50+
The Basics of Pickleball
Pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in the United States for more than 3 years now, and for several great reasons – pickleball is fast-paced, good for your health, and a fun form of exercise for the whole family! Almost everyone can play this easy-to-learn and popular sport.
What is Pickleball?
Invented in 1965 by three vacationers on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, pickleball is a combination of ping pong, badminton, and tennis. Today, pickleball courts are found in almost every community.
Classified by sports enthusiasts as a paddle sport or racket sport, pickleball is played on indoor courts or outdoor courts using paddles and a ball.
Why do they call it pickleball?
The origin of the name pickleball is up for debate. Some say it is named after one of the inventor’s dogs, Pickles, which used to run off with the ball during games. Others say it got its name from a pickle boat in the popular sport of rowing, which features a thrown-together crew drawn at random; this name reflects the makeshift combination of tennis, ping pong, and badminton that is pickleball.
Health Benefits of Pickleball
Pickleball is a low-impact sport, so it gets your heartrate up slowly while causing minimal pressure on your joints. Paddle sports like pickleball provide a wide variety of health benefits, including:
Improved hand-eye coordination
Stronger muscles
Better heart health
Playing pickleball also provides a number of mental health benefits, including:
Improved self-esteem
Positive mood from the release of endorphins, or “feel good hormones”
Reduced loneliness
What You Need for Pickleball
Pickleball Equipment
You’ll need only 5 things to play pickleball:
A pickleball paddle
A pickleball
A court
A net
Proper pickleball apparel
Pickleball Paddle
A pickleball paddle is lighter and smaller than a tennis racket, but bigger than the paddle used for ping pong.
Pickleball Ball
Made from plastic, resin or polymer, a pickleball ball is similar to a standard wiffleball.
Pickleball Court
Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court, which is 20 feet wide x 44 feet long. The pickleball court looks similar to a tennis court, with lines separating various areas of play.
A centerline separates the left and right service areas. Each player on a team stands to the left and right of the centerline. Another line, known as the non-volley line separates the play area from the kitchen.
Pickleball net
A net divides the two player sections of the pickleball court. This net measures 36” high at the sidelines and 34” high at the center.
Proper Pickleball Apparel
Wearing the right clothing can help you stay comfortable and play your best. A pair of comfortable shorts, sweatpants, or yoga pants works well, as do a t-shirt or sweatshirt.
You don’t need to buy a special pair of shoes. Any pair of comfortable tennis shoes will do, but wearing special pickleball shoes can really up your game. These shoes have a softer, sticker outsole that improves their grip on slippery court surfaces.
You can even get pickleball sets, which contain the paddles, ball, net, rule book, and sometimes tape to mark the boundaries.
How to Play Pickleball/Pickleball Rules
The official rules of pickleball are similar to other racket sports, such as tennis or ping pong, but slightly different to keep things interesting.
The USA Pickleball Association (USA Pickleball) has published the Official Rulebook for Pickleball since 1984. The International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) has adapted the official rules since 2010. USA Pickleball and IFP update the Official Rulebook every year as needed to keep up with this ever-evolving racket sport. The rules in the Official Rulebook apply to both recreational and tournament pickleball play.
Players can hit two main types of shots:
Groundstrokes – hitting the ball after it bounces off the ground
Volley – hitting the ball before it bounces
Most players hit groundstrokes from the baseline, and volley the ball while closer to the net.
The server serves the ball and the receiver returns it. The server continues to serve until a fault is committed. A fault can occur when:
The ball touches any part of the no-volley zone
Is hit out of bounds
Does not clear the net
Is volleyed from the no-volley zone
Volleyed before a bounce has occurred on each side
If the serving team commits a fault, the serve passes to the opposing team. Games are usually played until the score reaches 11, 15, or 21 points; the winning side must win by at least 2 points.
Stay out of the kitchen!
Each team’s play area has three main sections – the left service area, the right service area, and “the kitchen,” which is a 7-foot non volley zone.
One of the things that sets pickleball apart from other racket sports is “the kitchen,” which is a 7-foot deep section on each side of the net.
Formally known as the Non Volley Zone (NVZ), the kitchen is a “no volley zone,” which means players are not allowed to volley while in the kitchen. In fact, they cannot be in the NVZ – or even standing on the kitchen line – unless the ball lands in the kitchen first.
The purpose of the kitchen is to prevent players from standing too close to the center and simply smashing the ball over the net, which would take all the fun out of the game.
5 pickleball rules to know before you play
Pickleball uses only underhand serves, which means that the player makes contact with the pickleball below their waist with the head of the paddle below their wrist
Both the serve and the return of the serve must bounce, in what many refer to as the 2-bounce or 3-hit rule; after the serve and the return, players may volley
The server must call the score before each serve
No volleys allowed while making contact with the kitchen
Only the server can score points
The 5 must-know rules for doubles pickleball:
The first serve for each side starts with the player on the right-hand side.
If the serving team wins the point, the serving team’s players will switch sides of the court and the receiving team’s players will remain where they are.
If the receiving team wins the rally, neither team’s players will switch sides of the court.
The server continues serving until the serving team loses the rally.
If the serving team loses the rally, the serve goes to the receiving team or the second server (whichever applies).
The 5 must-know rules for singles pickleball:
The first serve for each side starts on the right side of the court.
If the server wins the point, the server switches sides of the court - the receiver stays on the same side of the court.
If the receiver wins the rally, neither player switches sides of the court.
The server keeps serving until they lose the rally.
If the server loses the rally, the serve goes to the receiver.
Where is a Pickleball Court Near me?
There are thousands of pickleball courts in the United States and beyond, which makes it easy to find a place to play in your community. There are also thousands of pickleball leagues you can join.
Of course, one of the best things about pickleball is that you can play it almost anywhere – simply find a flat surface that is hard enough to bounce a ball and measures at least 44’x20’.
How to Prevent Injury while Playing Pickleball
Injuries can happen while playing any sport, including pickleball. Sudden twisting, turning, and falls during play can cause sprains and strains of the knees, ankles, shoulder, and wrist, for example. Fortunately, pickleball is a low-impact sport with a relatively low injury rate.
Many pickleball injuries are preventable. Players can reduce their risk for injury by:
Using the right equipment, such as a lightweight paddle that absorbs impact and footwear that stabilizes their ankles
Doing exercises, such as tai chi, to improve balance
Strengthening their core, which is the group of muscles that controls the spine, abdomen and hips
Strengthening their leg muscles with squats, lunges and calf raises to stabilize the knees and ankles
Warming up properly
The Final Takeaway on Pickleball
Aside from playing by the rules, there is no right or wrong way to play pickleball. You can play this great racket sport now and then for fun at family get-togethers, for example, or you can take lessons and join a league. As with any racket sports, the more you play, the more health benefits pickleball provides.
Don’t miss out on this most popular sport for improving your physical and mental health! Check in with your Mighty Health coach on how you can add pickleball to your workout routine!