Pickleball is a fun and relatively easy-to-learn sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. Here's a basic overview of how to play:
Equipment:
- A pickleball paddle (similar to a large ping pong paddle)
- A pickleball (similar to a wiffle ball, but slightly heavier)
Court:
- The court is similar in size to a doubles badminton court (20 feet wide by 44 feet long).
- The court is divided into two halves by a net that is 36 inches high at the ends and 34 inches high in the middle.
Gameplay:
- Pickleball can be played with either two or four players.
- The game begins with a serve from behind the baseline to the opposite court.
- The serve must be hit underhand and made diagonally to the opponent's service court.
- Once the ball is served, players take turns hitting the ball back and forth over the net, similar to tennis.
- The ball must bounce once on each side of the net before players can hit it in the air.
- The receiving team must let the serve bounce before returning it, but after that, both teams can volley the ball (hit it in the air without letting it bounce).
- A point is scored when the opposing team fails to return the ball to the correct side of the net, hits the ball out of bounds, or commits a fault (such as stepping into the non-volley zone, which is a seven-foot area near the net where players cannot hit the ball in the air).
Scoring:
- Points are scored only by the serving team.
- Games are typically played to 11 points, and you must win by 2 points.
- If the game is tied at 10-10, you must win by 2 points, but there is no maximum score.
Overall, pickleball is a fun and social sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels. It's easy to pick up the basics, but there's plenty of room for improvement and strategy as you become more experienced.