Pickleball The Game

🏓 Pickleball, invented in the U.S. in 1965, has grown to over 36 million players in 70+ countries. Though still new to the UK, it's expanding quickly, with 35,000 players and more than 270 clubs and venues as of 2024.

Pickleball blends elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. It is played on a court the size of a badminton court with a modified tennis style net and players use solid paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball over the net.

Modern pickleball paddles are made from composite materials with a honeycomb core. Pickleballs are lightweight hollow and plastic with holes in them and are similar to wiffle balls. They typically come in yellow, green, or orange depending on the playing surface.

In the UK, pickleball is commonly played on dual marked badminton courts or taped-out tennis courts, though dedicated pickleball courts exist and many more are being built.

🥒 The game was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington by three dads Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum to entertain their bored kids. They improvised using:

A badminton court
Ping-pong paddles
A plastic wiffle ball

The game evolved quickly, with formal rules and handmade paddles appearing within a year.

So why is it called “Pickleball”?

Pickleball got its name from rowing. Joan Pritchard (Joel's wife), thought the sport’s mix of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong resembled a “pickle boat” crew — a team made up of leftover rowers from other boats.
However, a more fun myth is that the family dog Pickles chased the ball, so they named the sport after him. In reality, the dog was named after the game, not the other way around.

Pickleball is a fun game and easy for beginners to get into, here are the main rules.

The Serve: The game starts with an underhand serve, hit diagonally to the opponent's service court. The server must keep one foot behind the baseline and the paddle must contact the ball below the waist. Note there is no such thing as a 'let'. If on the serve the ball faults the net, is outside the serving zone or drops in the 'kitchen', service switches to the other team/player.
Two-Bounce Rule: After the serve, the ball must bounce once on each side before players can hit volleys (shots hit out of the air). This rule ensures fair play and prevents the serving team from gaining an unfair advantage.
Non-Volley Zone (The Kitchen): The area within 7 feet of the net is called the non-volley zone or 'kitchen'. Players cannot hit volleys while standing in this zone. This rule prevents players from dominating the net area.
Scoring: Points can only be scored by the serving team. Games are typically played to 11 points, and a team must win by 2 clear points. The score is called out as three numbers: the serving team's score, the receiving team's score, and the server number (1 or 2).
Faults: A fault occurs when the ball is hit out of bounds, doesn't clear the net, is volleyed from the non-volley zone, or if the ball bounces twice before being returned.
Doubles Play: In doubles, just the starting player serves until they lose service and the serve switches to the opposing team. Thereafter both players on a team have the opportunity to serve before the serve switches to the opposing team. The first serve of each side is made from whoever is in the right-hand court. On the serve both serving players must stand behind the baseline. The receiver is at the baseline and their partner generally moves forward to the kitchen as this is considered the best starting position.

See Pickleball Rules for more details. If you have any more questions or need further details, just ask me!

What Is Pickleball?

What are its origins?

The Rules