Take Your Shot | Pickleball Basics for Beginners
Ready to take your shot and play pickleball? Let’s get serving, dinking, and rallying because I’ve got you covered with everything you’ll need to know about pickleball before you go play, including the basics of pickleball, where to play, equipment you’ll need, and overall ratings!
Welcome to the Take Your Shot Series where I (Kyla!) try new sports to prove to myself (and you) that it’s never too late to learn and play sports. I’m reporting back with everything I learned to prepare you to take your shot!
YEG Pickleball in Edmonton, Alberta was kind enough to host myself and two friends to learn pickleball and play a couple of games! Coach Taylor from YEG Pickleball was AMAZING and truly made our experience an 11/10. She gave us a beginner’s lesson and then played a couple games with us, ensuring we learned the sport in a safe, fun, and supportive environment. I can’t recommend YEG Pickleball and Coach Taylor enough! Check them out here:
Do you want to me to come try your sport/activity or visit your organization/facility? Send me an email so we can make a game plan!
BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO PICKLEBALL
Playing pickleball is some of the most fun I’ve had playing sports in a long time!
While I played pickleball a few times in high school, that was almost 20 years ago (🙃), so I was basically starting from scratch again. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to learn and have fun right from the start. Pickleball definitely lives up to the hype — it’s accessible, easy to learn, minimal equipment is required, and it’s fun right from the start without a steep learning curve, making it a great sport for all ages and athletic abilities.
PLAYERS NEEDED FOR PICKLEBALL
2-4
You can play singles (1v1) or doubles (2v2).
For singles play, you can either play full court or play something called “Skinny Singles” where you’re only using half of the court. This is a far less exhausting style of singles play and allows you to still practice doubles play with only two people instead of four. This article from Vancouver Pickleball gives a great breakdown of how to play skinny singles!
WHERE TO PLAY PICKLEBALL
One of the best parts of pickleball is that it’s so accessible to play — you can go to a free outdoor court to play a game of pickleball with your friends or join organized play and tournaments at pickleball facilities.
FREE COURTS
With the increased popularity of the sport, pickleball courts are popping up everywhere! Depending on where you live, you should be able to find a free outdoor pickleball court to play on. I’ve even seen people using portable pickleball nets to convert tennis courts and gymnasiums into pickleball courts! Pickleball is a great sport to get a friend (or 3) together for a couple games or to organize a fun tournament with a group of people.
PRO TIP: If you’re unsure if there are any pickleball courts near you, use Google Maps satellite view to check from above and see if you can spot any!
REC CENTRES
If you already have a membership at your local rec centre, check and see if they offer opportunities to play drop-in pickleball or give members discounted rates on booking the courts/gym for pickleball.
HEADS UP: Something to keep in mind when deciding where to play is the hard floors at rec centres/gymnasiums will likely be harder on your knees and body than a facility with more cushioned flooring designed specifically for pickleball. I learned that YEG Pickleball’s courts are made with seven layers of rubberized paint and my (bad) knees didn’t bother me once!
PICKLEBALL FACILITIES
Like outdoor courts, pickleball facilities are opening up all over the place, giving pickleball players a great option to play the game year-round. To give you an idea, there are more than eight dedicated pickleball facilities in my city alone, so you should have lots of options to pick from when starting your hunt for a place to play pickleball!
Pickleball facilities will also give you the most options for playing the game as most will offer everything from private court rentals, to organized play and tournaments, to clinics and beginner lessons.
COST TO PLAY PICKLEBALL
The cost to play pickleball varies depending on where you’re playing, ranging from free outdoor courts, to low cost rec centre or gyms, and dedicated pickleball facilities.
To give you an idea of the cost to play at a facility, YEG Pickleball charges $8/hour per person for non-members to book a private court. So, it’s a pretty affordable sport to take part in and can even be completely free (after you make the initial investment in paddles and balls) by playing on open outdoor courts.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO PLAY PICKLEBALL
PICKLEBALL PADDLE
If you go to a pickleball facility, they’ll likely have paddles you can rent.
If you’re a beginner and want to grab your own paddle, you can start with a budget-friendly paddle (or set that comes with multiple paddles and balls) from a sports store or Amazon (this is backed by Coach Taylor from YEG Pickleball who started with a paddle from Amazon and moved up to a paddle that suited her needs after playing for a while!)
BALL
I always thought wiffle balls were used for pickleball, and while you can use them if you’re in a pinch, I learned it’s best to use a ball made for pickleball. Pickleballs are heavier and harder, and there are also indoor and outdoor balls depending on where you’re playing.
Most facilities will have pickleballs for rent or purchase.
COURT SHOES
Court shoes are recommended for pickleball to keep up with the side-to-side movements and prevent injuries (running shoes are designed for forward motion only). I almost wore the running shoes I had on hand before checking into it and decided to grab a pair of court shoes instead out of fear of injury. Tennis or court shoes are best to wear. These are the Adidas court shoes I bought and I loved them and can’t wait to use them more!
If you’re going to an indoor facility, most will require non-marking, clean indoor shoes.
ACTIVEWEAR YOU CAN EASILY MOVE IN
Pickleball doesn’t have a set dress code, so you’re free to wear whatever you feel comfortable moving around in. I chose to wear a tennis skort that I’ve had forever but never really had an opportunity to wear, but anything will work!
I also recommend wearing a high support sports bra because there are a lot of quick and high-impact movements that you want the girls to feel supported during!
PLAYING PICKLEBALL
Pickleball is played with two teams (of 1-2 people per team) on each side of the court. The players hit the ball back and forth over (or around, but that’s getting pretty fancy) the net in the middle of the court, trying to win points by making the opposing team fault.
Standard pickleball courts are 22 feet wide by 44 feet long, including a 7 foot area called the “non-volley zone” (and often referred to as the kitchen) on either side of the net.
Games typically go to 11 points and the winning team must win by at least two points.
PICKLEBALL RULES + ETIQUETTE
POINTS
A team can only win a point on their serve. If the serving team wins the rally, they get a point. If the serving team loses the rally, the opposing team does not get the point but the serving player loses serve.
TWO BOUNCE RULE
On each serve, the ball must hit the floor and bounce before the opposing team can return it. On the return, the serving team must let the ball bounce before returning it. Once the ball has bounce twice (once on the serve, once on the return) teams may then play the ball out of the air (called volleying)
The two bounce rule ensures that the serving team doesn’t get an immediate advantage to winning the rally after serving.
SERVING
There are various ways to determine which team serves first, including having the team on the north side of the court start, a coin toss, or rock paper scissors.
Once the serving team is decided, the player on the right side of the court always serves first. The serving player must stand behind the baseline and serve the ball underhand to the opposite side of the court by either tossing the ball up or bouncing it first. The ball must land on the other side of the net within the lines (or on the line) and cannot land in the non-volley zone at the front of court. The serve must hit the floor and bounce once before the player returns it, along with the initial return (this is called the “two bounce rule”). After that, the ball can be taken out of the air (without bouncing first) as long as it’s not played in the “non-volley zone”.
If the serving team wins the point, the server switches sides with their teammate and continues serving (and switching sides each serve) until they lose a point. Typically both players on a team would serve before it becomes the other team’s serve, but the very first serve of each game only allows the player on the right to serve before the other team gets the serve once a point is lost. This helps prevent the team serving first from dominating the game before the other team gets a chance to serve.
So serving would look like this (once the initial serve to open the game is completed):
Team 1, Player 1 (on the right) serves: If the point is won they get a point and then serve from the left side (and continue switching sides with each won point). If the point is lost, Team 1, Player 2 serves.
Team 1, Player 2 serves: If the point is won, they get a point and switch sides and serve again (continuing to switch sides and serve with each won point). If the point is lost, Team 2, Player 1 serves.
Team 2, Player 1 (on the right) serves: If the point is won, they get a point and serve from the left side (and continue switching sides with each won point). If the point is lost, Team 2, Player 2 serves.
Team 2, Player 2 serves: If the point is won, they get a point and switch sides and serve again (continuing to switch sides and serve with each won point). If the point is lost, Team 1, Player 1 (whoever is on the right) serves.
This pattern continues until one team wins,
KEEPING SCORE
This is where things can get confusing, especially for those just learning, but I promise you’ll get the hang of it quicker than you think when you start playing! The players keep score of their own games and it’s the responsibility of the serving player to call out the score before serving (always saying their team’s score first). Along with the score, the serving player also calls out whose serve it is, with the server on the right always being number 1.
To give you an example, if the score of a game was 5-2 for the serving team and they’re the first player to serve they would say “5-2-1”. If they were the second player on the team to be serving, they would call out “5-2-2”. If that point is lost, it becomes the other team’s serve and the opposing team player on the right side would call out “2-5-1”. If they win the point, it would then be “3-5-1”. If they lost the point, it would be the second teammate’s serve, “2-5-2”.
FAULTS
A fault either results in a loss of serve or a point.
Faults include: hitting the ball out, hitting the ball into the net, playing the ball out of the air before before the two bounce rule or in the non-volley zone, or if the ball hits their body (this is called “body bagging”).
Players are responsible for calling balls in or out when they land near the lines.
NON-VOLLEY ZONE
Once the two bounce rule is done, both team’s players will move up near the non-volley zone (or “kitchen”) line by the net to rally. Players cannot step into the non-volley zone and play the ball out of the air. A player can only step into the non-volley zone and play the ball AFTER it’s bounced. This keeps the game safer and helps the rallies flow as it prevents the ball from being smashed at the net into the opposing team.
PICKLEBALL POSITIONING
Positioning is where I struggled the most when learning because I kept getting lost on where I should stand when I’m not serving or being served to. Coach Taylor made it super simple by saying “serving, stay back” and I kept repeating this in my head to remember where to be.
If you have the serve: Stand behind the baseline and serve, then get ready for the return (remember you have to let it bounce once before returning it)
If your teammates has the serve: Stand by the baseline and then move up to the front (just behind the non-volley zone) once the return has been made
If you’re being served to: Stand near the baseline to allow the serve to bounce and then return it
If your teammate is being served to: You stand just in front of the non-volley zone to get ready for a rally
During game play: When you’re rallying, you should maintain a position near the non-volley zone, moving for the ball when it comes to your side. Make sure you’re communicating with your partner, giving a “yeah” or “mine” when you’re going to return the ball.
COMMON PICKLEBALL TERMS
DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating)
This is a global rating system based on skill for pickleball players to ensure fair matches. The rating goes from 2.0-8.0 (2.0 being the beginner rating) and can fluctuate based on how you do in games. This rating system allows players to monitor their improvement and ensure they’re competing in the right skill level.
DINKING
Dinking is a softer shot that is played near the net and used to make it hard for your opponents to attack on the return. It should be a light shot that lands in non-volley zone on the other side of the net. This forces your opponent to play it in the non-volley zone and has a good chance of forcing them to fault or return the ball back in a way that allows you to make a good shot and get the point on the return.
THE KITCHEN
If you’ve heard of pickleball, you’ve probably heard of "the kitchen”. This is another name for the non-volley zone at the front of the net.
VOLLEY
Hitting the ball out of the air before it bounces (remember, you can’t do this in the non-volley zone!).
ACE
A serve that isn’t returned by your opponent, resulting in a point off the serve.
BODY BAGGING
When a player purposely hits the ball at the body of an opposing team player, resulting in a fault for the player who was hit by the ball.
DIFFICULTY RATING
3/10
I found pickleball really easy to learn and play right off the hop. While there’s a ton of room for developing skills and levelling up your game, one of the great things about pickleball is that people can play a game without a ton of practice. I would highly recommend doing a beginner lesson to get the basics, but it’s not necessary. You can also watch videos and read up on different skills before playing.
If you’re playing with people of similar skill level, games are fun from the start, even with very little practice. My friends and I had never played (or played very little) and we were able to enjoy the game and have some really great rallies (for beginners!) from the start, even with only having picked up a paddle less than an hour before playing a game.
ACCESS RATING
9/10
There’s so many different options to play pickleball, but what I love the most is that once you have rackets and balls (which you can get relatively cheap to start out) you can get your friends together and play for free at outdoor courts or book at indoor facilities or drop-ins to play at a low cost.
FUN RATING
10/10
I had an absolute blast, which I wasn’t expecting when we’d never really played before. I thought it would be a steeper learning curve and that playing games wouldn’t be that fun because we’d still be getting the hang of it, but the competitive spirit in me loved that we could have good rallies and play the game without having a lot of playing time under our belts.
Another big thing that added to the fun is that I wasn’t worried about injuring myself once I started playing. I have bad knees (three knee surgeries!) and I my knees didn’t bother me once, which I wasn’t expecting!
ANXIETY RATING
3/10
I had some slight anxiety about what to wear (and if there would be change rooms, which there was!) and general nerves about learning something new BUT overall, going with supportive friends who don’t take themselves too seriously and finding a supportive coach if you’re doing a lesson (shoutout to Coach Taylor at YEG Pickleball for being THE BEST!) makes all the difference in the experience.
OVERALL RATING
10/10
This was the first new sport I played for the Take Your Shot Series and it truly couldn’t have gone any better. It was such a fun sport to get my confidence going from the start and set the bar incredibly high for the rest of the series and sports I’ll be trying.
Pickleball is overall an incredible sport that allows people of all ages, body types, and athletic abilities to play. You can take it as seriously as you want to and go play with your friends for a good time or there’s tons of room for improving and playing more competitive organized games and tournaments, if that’s what you want.
GET IN THE GAME AT YEG PICKLEBALL
If you’re in Edmonton and want to play pickleball, I highly recommend YEG Pickleball!
You can take a beginners lesson or skills clinic to start (if you want), book a private court to play with friends, or join in on their organized play opportunities or tournaments. They’ve even got women’s only round robin play to level up your play and meet other women who love pickleball!
They also offer paddle rentals, so you can literally just grab your friends, shoes, and show up and play!
Ready to take your shot and play pickleball? Check out our women’s sports directory to find a place to learn or play near you!
Check out adult women’s sports events and playing opportunities on our global event board!
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