1 – How to hold the paddle
Pickleball is ideally played with a tennis style ‘continental grip’ for all shots. Other grips can be adopted later, but this grip is a good starting point.
The angle between the wrist and paddle should also be around 60 degrees. Try to play with the paddle swinging beside you, not under you.
Try not to swing with your wrist or elbow too much, your shoulder should be the primary pivot point. This encourages the paddle face to be at the correct angle to the ball for as long as possible during the shot.
2 – Basic rules
There are three basic rules to Pickleball which make it different to other racquet sports.
- You must serve underarm (see serving rules below).
- The serving team cannot hit the 3rd shot on the full/volley.
- You cannot step into the ‘kitchen’/ ‘NVZ (non-volley zone) before, during or after a volley.
3 – Serving
There are two types of serving in Pickleball: the volley (standard) serve and the drop serve. Both have rules regarding them but for both the server must be behind the baseline, on the correct side of the centre line and the serve must land in the opposite side of the court, past the kitchen line.
For the volley serve, the ball must be hit on the full, below the waist, with an upward paddle motion, and the paddle must be below the wrist.
For the drop serve, the only rule is that the ball must be dropped, not thrown or propelled in any way, then hit after the ball has bounced. The ball can be dropped from any height.
4 – Scoring and serving order
Pickleball is scored using three numbers: your score, your opponent’s score and the number of the server. The score MUST be called out by the server at the start of each point.
At the start of the game, the player on the right serves first but to negate any advantage of serving first, the team that serves first only gets one serve. The score at the start of the game is always: 0/0/2.
A team can only gain points by winning the rally that starts with their team serving. If the team that serves first wins the first point of the game, then the score would be: 1/0/2. Once the team serving first loses the point, the serve then goes to the other team with the player on the right serving first.
This is server 1 and since the other team has scored 1 point (as in the example above) then the score would be: 0/1/1.
If the first server loses the point then the other player on their team serves calling out the serve as: 0/1/2.
If the serving team wins the point, then they swap positions and the serving player continues to serve.
Here is an example of a game and the scores:
Team A serves first: Score 0/0/2
Team A wins the point, score 1/0/2
Team B wins the point, score 0/1/1 (serving changes to 1st server on team B)
Team B wins the point, score 1/1/1
Team B wins the point, score 2/1/1
Team A wins the point, score 2/1/2 (serving changes to 2nd server on team B)
Team A wins the point, score 1/2/1 (serving changes to 1st server on team B
If that is confusing, don’t worry!!! Scoring is usually the hardest part of Pickleball to grasp. Just play, let some other more experienced players keep score and it will come to you in no time!!!
5 – Kitchen/No Volley Zone (NVZ)
This is the area between the net, the line across the court approximately 1.3m back from the net and the side lines.
No part of the players body or paddle can be touching the court in this area if they hit the ball on the full.
This includes preparing for a shot (pushing backwards to get to the ball), during a shot and after a shot (momentum carrying a player into the area). A player can however go into the Kitchen/NVZ to hit a ball that is or is going to bounce but must reset their stance outside the area before hitting the next shot on the full.
6 – Advanced Tactics
In Pickleball it is far harder to hit a lob over the opposition than to hit a drop shot in front of them.
For this reason, it is highly recommended that all players get to the Kitchen/NVZ line as soon as possible in a point.
For the receiving team, the non-receiving player should start at the Kitchen/NVZ line and the receiving player should move forward as soon as they hit the return of serve. For the serving team, both players start at the back of the court (usually behind the baseline) as they must let the return of serve bounce. After they hit the 3rd shot, every effort should be made to move forward ASAP.
7 – Final tips
If you want to improve your technique and game faster, there is a massive amount of Pickleball content, coaching and tips on YouTube. Grab an old, cracked ball and practice against a wall at home or after watching a video, look at your own technique in a mirror!
But most of all, HAVE FUN!! Pickleball is a sport for all ages and physical abilities!