Learn your pickleball terms so you can play with others. Pickleball is not complicated and should be simple for beginners.
1. Serve: The first hit that begins a rally and is made diagonally crosscourt.
2. Fault: Any violation of the rules that results in the loss of the serve or point.
3. Dink: A soft shot hit from the kitchen, which lands in the opponent’s non-volley zone.
4. Drop shot: A soft shot that lands just over the net, often used to catch opponents off guard.
5. Lob: A high, defensive shot hit over the opponent’s head to the back of the court.
6. Smash: A powerful overhead shot hit with force, often used to end a rally.
7. Side-out: When the serving team loses the serve and the other team takes over.
8. Non-volley zone: A 7-foot area on each side of the net where players are not allowed to hit the ball in the air.
9. Double bounce rule: The rule that states that the ball must bounce once on each side of the net before a player can hit it in the air.
10. Kitchen: The area at the net that is also known as the non-volley zone.
11. Rally: A series of shots back and forth between teams that continues until a fault is made.
12. Fault serve: A serve that does not land in the correct service court or violates another serving rule.
13. Let serve: A serve that hits the top of the net and lands in the correct service court.
14. Poach: A strategy where a player moves into their partner’s side of the court to hit a shot.
15. Pickleball: A paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis.