Pickle-Ball Study Guide
Brief History
Pickle-Ball was created during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island – a short
ferryboat ride from Seattle, Washington. 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. Initially, families played Pickle-Ball in their
backyards on a hard surface, on driveways, and on residential dead end streets. Since the
mid-1970’s Pickle-Ball has grown and expanded from a family activity game to a net
court sport with formalized rules and is currently being played in thousands of
educational institutions, parks, and recreation centers, correctional facilities, health clubs,
corporate fitness centers, and on multi-purpose courts at family residences.
Terminology
Forehand- stroke hit on the paddle side
Backhand- stroke hit on the opposite side as the paddle
Volley- stroke where the ball is hit prior to it bouncing
Lob- a defensive high arcing shot, preferably deep in the court
Smash- an offensive stroke hit overhand at a downward angle
Drop- a stroke hit just over the net into the non-volley zone
Non-Volley Zone- part of the court where players may not volley the ball from,
feet must behind the line.
Rules and Regulations
Double Bounce Rule- Each team must play their first shot off of the bounce.
(Example: the receiving team must let the serve bounce, and the serving
team must let the return bounce before playing their shot).
Serving Rules:
1) One foot must be behind the end-line
2) Must be underhand (paddle must travel below your waist)
3) Ball must be hit out of the air (it may not be bounced and then hit)
4) Serve diagonally cross court into the opposite service box
5) Only one serve is allowed, except if the ball hits the net and lands in
the proper service box (this is called a “let”)
Singles
1) Serve from the RIGHT HAND COURT when your score is 0 or an
even number
2) Serve from the LEFT HAND COURT when your score is an odd
number
Double
1) At the start of a new game, the 1st serving team is allowed only one
fault before giving up the ball to the opponent
2) After the first possession both members of each team will serve and
fault before the ball is turned back over to the other team.
3) When receiving team wins the serve the person in the right hand court
will always serve first.
4) When the serving team wins a point, the players SWITCH courts and
the same player continues to serve.
Faults:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Hitting the ball out of bounds
Ball does not clear the net
Player steps into the non-volley zone and volleys the ball
Player hits the ball before it bounces once on each side
Scoring:
- The game is played to 11 points; however, a team must win by 2 points
- A team can only score a point when serving
- A player who is serving shall continue to serve until their team commits
a fault
Doubles Strategy
Pickle-Ball involves strategies that include lobbing, overhead slamming, passing
drive shots, and fast volley exchanges at the net. The key strategy to remember is that the
team that reaches the front court in a net volley position first will be in the best position
to win the point. The best position is when both players on the same team are side-byside in the attack position one foot behind the non-volley zone.
Court Diagram
Net
Endline
Left
Service
Court
Centerline
Right
Service
Court
N
O
N
N
O
N
V
O
L
L
E
Y
V
O
L
L
E
Y
Z
O
N
E
Z
O
N
E
Net
Right
Service
Court
Centerline
Left
Service
Court
Endline