Have you tried pickleball? Here’s what you need to know before stepping on the court
The sport of pickleball has quickly become a fan favorite with people of all ages. With its rise in popularity, a lot of new people are giving the sport a try.
On the surface, pickleball seems just like ping-pong, but it’s a little more complex than that.
If you’re just picking up the paddle for the first time, here’s what to know before stepping on the court.
WHAT IS A SERVE?
When the game begins, someone will start by hitting the ball from their side of the court onto the opposite side. The two teams will then hit the ball back and forth, also called returning.
If you hear someone call a rally, this means that the teams hit the ball back and forth frequently.
Each point will begin with someone serving the ball.
HOW DO I SCORE?
You can only earn points when you’re serving. Points are awarded when a team fails to return the ball to the opposing side, or if it lands out of the white boundary lines on the court.
After you score a point, you have to serve from the opposite side of where you previously served. If you started on the left side on your team’s half of the court, you’ll move to the right side, or vice versa. Before you start your serve, you have to announce the score and who’s serving.
The first number you say is your score, followed by your opponent’s score. The next number you say is the server, as both players on the team get to serve before the other team does.
When someone yells “1-0, two,” this means that the score is 1-0 for the serving team and the second person is serving the ball to start the next point.
The server numbers are determined by where they serve on the court. The server on the right side will always be the first server, and the server on the left side is always the second server.
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?
There’s a two-bounce rule - when someone serves a ball, you have to let it bounce, and when someone returns the ball, you have to let it bounce. It is mandatory in pickleball to let it bounce on the first two shots.
After the ball bounces twice, you can choose to hit it in the air or hit it after it bounces. Like in tennis, you can either hit the ball over the net or hit the ball around the post. As long it doesn’t hit the ground before it gets to the other side, it’s a legal shot.
Players need to stay away from the middle section of the court called “the kitchen.” You can’t step into this section to hit the ball while the ball is in the air. This is to prevent players from standing over the net and smashing the ball at a short distance.
However, you can step into the kitchen to hit a ball that’s already bounced inside the space.
This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 3:47 AM with the headline "Have you tried pickleball? Here’s what you need to know before stepping on the court."
