History
Joel Pritchard, a US Congressman from Washington, invented the game of pickle ball. The
game of PB was named after the family dog, Pickles who used to enjoy chasing objects
around the yard. Pickle Ball is a combination of tennis and ping pong and is a lifetime
activity. The game is great for hand-eye coordination; helps build self-esteem and can be
played either indoors or outdoors.
The Court
The size of the court is 20’ x 44’ for both singles and doubles.
The net height is 36”
Non-Volley Zone
The serve must make it across the NVZ. You are NOT allowed
to volley the ball while standing in the NVZ, however you ARE
allowed to play a bounced ball in the zone
Serving
The player must keep one foot behind the back line when serving. The other foot can
be in bounds.
The serve is always underhand and must be contacted below the waist
The serve must be hit in the air, the server cannot let the ball bounce and then serve
the ball
Only one service attempt is allowed
The player in the right hand side always serves first
At the start of a new game, the 1st serving team is allowed one fault
The serve MUST be diagonal
Scoring
The right side player serves first
A point is made if the ball clears the non volley zone and lands in the correct court
After a point, the server remains serving, but switches sides with his/her partner and
continues to serve and switch until a fault has been made
Partners switch courts only after a point
The game can be played three ways: the best out of 3 games to 11 points, and 1
game of either 15 or 21 points and a team must win by 2.
A ball landing on the line is good
Double Bounce Rule
Each team must play their first shot off of the bounce. This means after the server
serves, you must let the ball bounce 1 time before you return the serve. This has to
happen on each side before the volley can occur
(A more depth explanation will be done in class)
Faults
Hitting the ball out of bounces
Not clearing the net
Stepping into the NVZ and volleying the ball
Volleying the ball before the double bounce rule
Types of Shots
Smash: the most effective offensive shot, a streamline hit that is the most difficult to
return
A lob/clear: when the defense is standing close to the net, the shot is high and lands
deep in the court
A drop: when the defense is standing near the baseline, this shot is dropped in the
non-volley zone
Doubles Play
Player in the right hand side of the court serves diagonally to the opposing right court
The ball must clear the non volley zone and the opponents must let the ball bounce 1
time before returning the ball
The serving team must let the ball bounce 1 time on their side as well
If a fault is made by the receiving team, the serving team scores a point
When a point is scored, the players switch sides and the same player continues the
serve
When the serving team makes its first fault, the players stay in the same court and the
second partner serves. When the second fault is made, the ball is given to the
opposing team
Singles Play
When serving in singles, each player serves from the right hand court when the score is 0 or
any even number, and from the left hand side when the score is an odd number