Puerto Rico Pickleball Association

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WHAT IS PICKLEBALL?

Pickleball is a rapidly growing paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, paddle tennis, badminton, and ping pong. It's easy to learn, fast-paced, and a lot of fun to play due to the long rallies that take place over the course of a match.

Pickleball is almost always played in doubles, although singles is also very popular and fun to play, especially for those looking for a bigger challenge.

The main idea of Pickleball is to hit the ball back and forth until someone commits a foul.

Pickleball is played on a 44' by 20' rectangular court. The court is divided into two sides by a low net. There are two sidelines, two baselines, a center line on each side, as well as two non-volley lines, creating an area called the 'Kitchen' in Pickleball.

The center line divides each side into two service courts, the service court to the left and the service court to the right. This allows players to know where to serve the ball and where to stand when serving.

History of Pickleball

Pickleball was created in the United States during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, in the State of Washington. It was developed by US Congressman Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, Jordan Steranka, and Barney McCallum. His intention in creating Pickleball was to design a new sport that was fun, challenging, and that everyone could play.

So pickleball got its start using Joel Pritchard's badminton court in his backyard. For sports equipment, they created wooden paddles that were slightly larger than ping-pong paddles and opted to use a perforated plastic ball. The founders created rules that are heavily dependent on badminton and kept in mind the original purpose, which was to offer a game that the whole family could play. At first, they put the net at the height of the badminton net (5 feet) and played volley the ball over the net. As the game progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well off the asphalt surface and lowered the net to a height of 3 feet.

The Pritchards had a Cocker Spaniel named Pickles who was interested in this new game. Every time a ball came his way, he would catch it and run. Pickle believed that it was his ball (Pickle's ball) and that is how the game got its name from him

Introduction to Pickleball

Matches are played two games out of three. Each game is played to eleven points, and by winning by two games, you win the match. Pickleball can be played as singles or doubles, with doubles being the most popular. Singles and doubles are played following the same rules with slightly different scoring methods.

The Service

The beginning of a game begins with a serve. The player in the correct service court is always the first server, whether at the start of a game or side by side. Before serving the server must call the score.

A Pickleball serve must be hit below the waist of the body and behind the Baseline crossing the ball into the opposing team's service area. The service must pass the network and not land in the 'Kitchen'. If the ball hits the net and lands on the correct service ground, play continues until one of the players commits a foul.

The Return of Service
The service returner must allow the ball to bounce before returning it to the opposing team's side on either service court.

'Two Bounce Rule'
The 'Two Bounce Rule' states that after the ball is served, it must bounce once on each side, before either team begins to volley the ball into the air.

The "Kitchen"

Also Known As: 'Non-Volley Zone' . Players may not hit the ball while standing in the 'Kitchen' unless the ball has already rebounded from their side. Players may not enter the 'Kitchen' and hit the ball in the air.

The 'Two Bounce Rule' and 'Non-Volley Zone'
are considered as unique features in Pickleball.

Faults

In Pickleball mistakes are called fouls. There are several major fouls that can be committed in the middle of a game.

The ball can bounce once on one side before being hit. If the ball bounces more than once, it is a foul.
Hitting the ball out of bounds is a foul. When the center of the ball hits the ground, it determines if a ball is inside or outside a line.
If the ball is hit at the net, it is a foul.
Any game that involves going into the 'Kitchen' to hit a ball out of the air is a foul.

Pickleball Scoring

Pickleball is a great way to socialize and engage in a competitive yet fun workout. But who wants to compete without scoring? This is a brief introduction on how to keep score in Pickleball.

Pickleball is a great way to socialize and engage in a competitive yet fun workout. But who wants to compete without scoring? This is a brief introduction on how to keep score in Pickleball.

Pickleball can be played as singles or doubles. Since doubles are played more often and have almost the same rules as singles, we'll talk about doubles scoring first.

Pickleball is generally played to eleven points.

Serving Team

Each game begins with a serve. Before each service, the server must indicate the score by first saying his team's score, then the opposing team's score, and then his server number, which may be one or two. In doubles, each player on a team has an opportunity to serve.

Only the serving team can score a point by winning a game. The player who is from the right side of the service will always serve the opposing team first. If the serving team gets a point, the two players switch places, so the first server now serves from the left side of the serve. The serving team will continue to switch places until they commit a foul. When the serving team fouls, the second server will now serve from their current position. Once another foul is committed by the serving team, the opposing team now has two chances to serve.

Here's an example:

The score is "4 to 3".
The first server is still serving.
The score is indicated as "4, 3, 1".
The first server fouls, so now the second server will serve from the correct position and issue the score as "4, 3, 2".
The team where it is serving wins the point, so the second server will change places to continue serving. The second server will call the score as "5, 3, 2" and serve.
The serving team fouls this time, and now the opposing team has two chances to serve.
The first server on the opposing team will call the score as "3, 5, 1" before serving.

Exception at the beginning of the game

The only exception to both players serving is with the first serve of a game. The first server, starting from the right side of the serve, starts as the second server, so as not to give the first serving team an unfair advantage. The first score in the game is called "0, 0, 2" or it can also be called, "0, 0, Start". This means that as soon as the serving team commits a foul, it is the turn of the opposing team to serve.

Singles

In singles play, each player only serves once. Once a player commits a foul, it is his turn to serve to the player who won the point. It is only necessary to call the score during singles and not the number of the server. It is important to keep track of which service side you serve. If your score is an even number, you must be serving from the right side of the serve. If your score is odd, you must be serving from the left side of the serve.

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