Pickleball Study Guide

History: The game of Pickleball was developed in Seattle, Washington by Joel Pritchard in 1965. The name came from their dog “Pickles” who always seemed to steel the ball they were playing with.

Rules:

• You must serve underhand, and the ball must bounce before you serve it.
• To earn points your team must be serving
• A game is played to 11 points, you must win by 2.
• Double-bounce rule- The serve must bounce and the return must bounce before you are able to volley the ball.
• Due to the double bounce rule, you are not allowed to volley the ball when returning the serve.
• No-Volley zone- Players are not allowed in the no-volley zone at any time during the game. This zone is a 7 foot space between the net and the service courts.

Vocabulary:

• Volley- Hitting the ball in the air, during a rally, before the ball has a chance to bounce onto the court.
• Cross-court- The court diagonally opposite your court.
• Rally- Continuous play after a serve.
• Backhand- Step Same foot, hitting shoulder toward target
• Forehand- Step opposite, opposite shoulder toward target, small backswing, follow through to opposite shoulder.

Faults

• Serving the ball into an incorrect area.
• Hitting the ball out of bounds.
• Volleying the ball before it has bounced once on each side.
• Hitting the ball into the net or hitting the net with your paddle or body.
• Hitting the ball while in the non-volley zone before it is allowed to bounce.
• Missing the ball when you try to hit it.
• Server swings the paddle with the intent of hitting the ball but misses.