What is Pickleball?

Pickleball is a fun, social sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. Played both indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court and with a slightly modified tennis net. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, over a net.

The rules are simple and the game is easy for beginners to learn, but can develop into a fast-paced, competitive game.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, Washington. Three dads – Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum — whose kids were bored with their usual summertime activities — are credited for creating the game. Combining badminton nets, table tennis bats and a wiffle ball, the three men created the first iteration of what would go on to become pickleball.

The name ‘Pickleball’ is said to have come from either Joel’s wife Joan, who said that she named the game after a crew that is made up of the leftover oarsmen from other boats called a “pickle boat”. Meanwhile, McCallum said that the name came from Pritchard’s dog, Pickles, who would chase the ball and run off with it.

Pickleball has evolved from original handmade equipment and simple rules into a popular sport throughout the US and Canada where nearly 3 million people play the sport. The game is growing internationally as well, with many European and Asian countries adding courts.

In the UK, pickleball clubs started to form around 2011 and the sport has continued to grow ever-since. It’s estimated that in 2023 there are around 270 pickleball venues and 7000 players in the UK, with the game only expected to grow further in the coming years.

A pickleball court is the same size as a doubles badminton court and measures 20×44 feet. In pickleball, the same court is used for both singles and doubles play. The net height is 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches in the middle.

The court is laid out similar to a tennis court with right and left service courts and a 7-foot non-volley zone in front of the net (referred to as the “kitchen”). Courts can be constructed specifically for pickleball or they can be converted using existing tennis or badminton courts.

The game follows specific Pickleball rules designed to ensure fair play and enjoyable competition. The court is divided into two service boxes and then a non-volley zone close to the net called ‘the kitchen’ (our kitchen line is yellow).

• To start a point the ball is served underarm into the opposite service box, clearing the kitchen. The ball must bounce once on both sides of the court before the player or doubles team can start to volley, in accordance with the Pickleball rules

• The rally continues until either a player/team make a mistake (e.g. hit a shot out of bounds or in the net) or someone hits a winner (ball bounces twice)

• The kitchen is also known as the non-volley zone, meaning that if you play a shot inside the kitchen, you must let the ball bounce first, otherwise it’s a point to the other player/team

• Any ball that lands on, or touches a line is considered ‘in’, with one exception: the non-volley zone (kitchen) line on a serve. When serving, a ball landing on the kitchen line is considered a fault. Otherwise, for all other lines (sideline, baseline, centerline) and for any shot during a rally, hitting the line means the ball is in

• It is the responsibility of the players on the side in question to call whether the ball is in or out. If they are certain it was out they must say so and the opposition must respect the decision. If they are not sure then the ball must be called ‘in’. There are no lets in Pickleball unless a stray ball enters the court from a neighbouring game or a similar obstruction takes place, all players must agree to play a let in that circumstance.

How to score in Pickleball

There are two ways to score a Pickleball game. At Newark Pickleball we generally use the rally scoring method which we find to be easier to follow with closer results.

Rally Scoring

Points on every rally – If the serving team wins the rally, they score a point and keep serving. If the receiving team wins the rally, they score a point and gain the serve (a side-out)

Calling the score – Unlike traditional side-out scoring you only need to announce only two numbers – the serving team’s score followed by the receiving team’s score (e.g. “5-3”)

Positioning – Players align and serve based on an even-odd system. When your team’s score is even, the player on the right serves, when your score is odd, the player on the left court

No server swaps on points – Unlike traditional side-out scoring, partners do not switch sides of the court every time they win a point on serve, making patterns and stacking simpler to maintain

Winning a game – Games are commonly played to 15 or 21 points and you must win by a margin of two points. At Newark Pickleball we play to a timer to ensure we all finish at the same time which means whoever has the highests score when the buzzer sounds is the winner

Traditional side-out scoring

Calling the score – a team can only score a point when they are the serving team.

1. The serving team’s score
2. The receiving team’s score
3. The server number

For example, a score call of “5-3-2” means the serving team has 5 points, the receiving team has 3 points, and the second server is currently serving.

Player rotation – Unlike rally scoring both players on a doubles team have an opportunity to serve before the ball turns over to the opponents (with one exception at the start of the game)

• Server 1: The player on the right side of the court starts serving. If the serving team wins the rally, they score a point, and that same server switches sides with their partner to serve from the left court. This continues until the serving team loses a rally
• Server 2: When Server 1 loses a rally, no point is awarded to the receivers. Instead, the serve moves to the partner (Server 2), who serves from whichever side they are currently standing on
• Side-Out: When Server 2 loses a rally, the serve turns over to the opposing team. This is called a “side-out.

The first-game exception – To prevent the team that serves first from having an unfair advantage, only one player gets to serve on the very first service turn of the game. The match always starts with the score called as “0-0-2” (or “0-0-start”). As soon as the serving team loses that first rally, a side-out is called immediately, and the serve goes to the opposing team

Pickleball service rules

In Pickleball, the ball is served diagonally to the opposite service box. The ball must travel beyond the kitchen and bounce in the service box before the player can return the ball (the ball has to bounce on either side of the net before players can start to volley).

Players can either serve underarm or the ball can be dropped (not thrown down) on the ground and then hit underarm. When serving out of your hand the ball must not be above your belly button when hit and the top edge of the paddle must be below your wrist. When serving, players must stand within the sidelines and centreline and both feet must be behind the baseline (although one foot can land on the court during the serving motion providing the ball has already been struck).