Introduction:

Pickleball is a paddleball sport (similar to a racket sport) that combines elements of badminton, table tennis, and tennis. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, much like a wiffle ball, with 26–40 round holes, over a net. The sport shares features of other racket sports: the dimensions and layout of a badminton court, and a net and rules somewhat similar to tennis, with several modifications. Pickleball was invented in the mid-1960s as a children's backyard game. The spread of the sport is attributed to its popularity within community centers, physical education classes, public parks, private health clubs, YMCA facilities and retirement communities. There are thousands of pickleball tournaments throughout the United States, including the U.S. Pickleball National Championships and U.S. Open Pickleball Championship, as well as numerous international championships.

Court:

The pickleball court is similar to a doubles badminton court. The regulation size of the court is 20 feet by 44 feet for both doubles and singles. The net is hung at 36 inches on the ends and 34 inches at center. The court is lined like a badminton court, but the serving line is seven feet from the net (six inches further than the badminton service line). The pickleball serving line is part of the non-volley-zone or "kitchen", which extends seven feet from either side of the net.

Play:

The ball is served with an underarm stroke so that contact with the ball is made below waist level (waist is defined as the navel level) in an upward arc. The server hits from behind the baseline on one side of the center line and aims diagonally to the opponent's service court (as in the "court dimensions" figure).Only the serving side may score a point. Play ends for a point when one side commits a fault. Faults include:

• not hitting the serve into the opponent's diagonal service court
• not hitting the ball beyond the net
• not hitting the ball before the 2nd bounce on one side of the net
• hitting the ball out of bounds
• volleying the ball on the service return
• volleying the ball on the first return by the serving side
• stepping into the non-volley zone (the first seven feet from the net, also known as the 'kitchen') in the act of volleying the ball.
• touching the net with any body part, paddle, or assistance device

A player may enter the non-volley zone to play a ball that bounces and may stay there to play balls that bounce. The player must exit the non-volley zone before playing a volley. The first side scoring 11 points leading by at least two points wins the game. If the two sides are tied at 10 points apiece, the side that goes ahead by two points wins the game. Tournament games may be played to 11, 15 or 21 points with players rotating sides at 6, 8 or 11 total points respectively. The server, or server and partner, usually stay at the baseline until the first return has been hit back and has bounced once. At the beginning of a doubles game, before any serving, the score is 0–0. Then the side serving first gets only one fault before their side is out, meaning that their opponents serve next. After the first fault, each side gets 2 faults (one for each team member serving) before their side is "out". In singles play, each side gets only one fault before a side is out and the opponent then serves. The server's score will always be even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10...) when serving from the right side, and odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9...) when serving from the left side.

As the game is relatively new, rule modifications are being made frequently. For instance, in 2021 a rule change was made for a "net serve," so that a serve that touches the top of the net and lands in the proper service court is no longer replayed. The previous rule on a "let serve" was borrowed from tennis, where a "let" call is always replayed.