Pickleball is a young racquet sport that borrows from table tennis, badminton and tennis. It is fast, social, and easy to pick up — played on a compact court with a paddle and a perforated plastic ball, in singles or doubles. Here is everything you need to get started.
The equipment
Paddle. Shorter than a tennis racquet and solid rather than strung. Our pickleball sets come with soft foam handles for a firm grip and a carry bag so the set travels as easily as it plays.
Ball. Durable moulded plastic, perforated like a wiffle ball. It flies slower than a tennis ball, which is exactly why rallies last longer and beginners keep up.
Court. Roughly 13 m by 6 m — smaller than a tennis court. A non-volley zone sits either side of the net, and each half is split into left and right service areas.
The basic rules
The server stands behind the baseline and hits underhand, diagonally into the opponent’s service court. The ball must clear the net and land in. Play continues until someone faults.
The non-volley zone — universally called the kitchen — extends about two metres either side of the net. You may not volley the ball while standing in it; it has to bounce first. Learning to respect the kitchen line is most of the game.
Only the serving side scores. Games usually run to eleven points, win by two, though local clubs vary.
You win a point when the other side
- hits the ball out of bounds
- fails to clear the net
- volleys from inside the non-volley zone
- lets the ball bounce twice
Three things that make you better quickly
Drill the fundamentals. Serve, return and volley. Most points at club level are lost, not won — a reliable return beats a spectacular winner.
Watch your court position. Get to the kitchen line and hold it. Players who hang back at the baseline give away the whole middle of the court.
Talk to your partner. In doubles, call who takes the middle ball before it arrives, not after.
The rest you learn by playing. Find a court, pick up a paddle, and give it an afternoon — the social side of pickleball is half the reason it has spread so fast.
