Rules
By Lindsay Faber
History
The mini-tennis game called
Pickleball was created during the
summer of 1965 on Bainbridge
Island - a short ferry ride from
Seattle, WA. The original purpose
of the game was to provide a sport
for the entire family, according
to co-inventors U.S. Congressman
Joel Pritchard, William Bell, and
Barney McCallum.
How did Pickle-Ball get its name?
Pickles was the family dog that would
chase after the errant balls and then
hide in the bushes, thus Pickle's ball
which was later shortened to the
namesake of Pickleball.
Basic Rules of
Pickleball
The Lines
The baseline is the
end of the court.
Any balls
bouncing past
this line are
considered out.
Serves must be
made while
stradling the
baseline. Sidelines
and the baseline
should be
positioned so
that any ball
bouncing on the
line is good. On
the serve, a ball
striking the nonvolley zone line
is considered a
fault.
The non-volley zone
Seven feet from the net, there is a
line marking the non- volley zone. You
are not allowed to hit the ball without
letting it bounce first if your foot is
between this line and the net, or if
you stumble into this zone after hitting
the ball in the air.
Scoring and winning
A team gets a point when they win a
rally that they served. When a point is
won, the players of the winning team
switch sides. The first
team to 11 points
wins, but you have to
win by two points.
The Serve
The player on the right always serves first.
The ball must contact the paddle below the
waist and must land in the diagonally
opposite court, past the non-volley line. The
player must hit the ball without bouncing it
first. Both players on a team will serve
before the service passes to the other team.
To keep the first service of a game fair, only
the first player serves during the first service
of the game.
Pickleball
Scoring
Because players
switch sides with
each point, a simple
scoring system was
devised to keep
track of who is
serving. Before each
serve, the server
calls out their
team’s score, the
other team’s score,
and then, whether
they are the first
or second server for
their team.
For example, if my
team has 5 points,
the other team has
3, and my partner
has already served
and lost the
point, I would
call out, “5, 3,
Server 2.”
The Return
The receiving team
must let the ball bounce
before returning the serve.
Also, the serving team MUST
let the returned ball bounce
once more before hitting it
back. There will be two bounces in the
first two hits of the rally.
Singles play
The server
serves from
the right
side of
the court
when his
or her
score is
even and
the left
side when
odd.
Pickleball
1. The game of Pickle-Ball was
named after what?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The family’s favorite snack
The family dog
The creator’s last name
Nothing, they just thought it was a cute
name
2. What year was pickleball
created?
A. 1876
B. 1980
C. 1994
D. 1965
3. Pickleball is played on the same
size court at what other sport?
A. Racquet Ball
B. Badminton
C. Tennis
D. Volleyball
4. The double bounce rule is
A. Receiving team must let the serve
bounce twice before hitting the pickleball.
B. The ball must bounce once on each side
after the serve before any volleys can be
attempted.
C. The ball must bounce twice before
serving the ball.
D. If the ball bounces twice on one side the
ball must be hit left handed.
5. A point can only be scored
A. By the serving team
B. On a volley
C. By the receiving team
D. On a diagonally hit shot
Key
1.B
2.D
3.B
4.B
5.A