Pickleball is a mini tennis like game that
began in the Puget Sound region of the State of Washington USA.
Though it has been around for about twenty
years, the last five has seen tremendous growth. Inquires about
the game come to the USAPA office from
around the country and the world! It is played on any hard
surface, has the same lines and dimensions
as badminton courts only the net is lowered to the ground.
The United States of America Pickleball
Association (the official promoter and governing body for the
game) claims it builds self esteem for
youngsters, provides competitive compition for active athletes and is
like the fountain of youth for older players.
Click on Pickleball News for more diverse descriptions of this
passion we call Pickleball. For information
on rulebooks, equipment, other players, tournaments etc. visit
usapa.org or call 1-888-775-9615!
The Game
Pickleball is a simple paddle game, playing
a special perforated slow-moving ball over a tennis type net, on a
badminton-sized court.
The ball is served underhand, without bouncing
it from the court, and is served diagonally to the opponent's
service zone.
Points are scored by the serving side only
and occur when the opponent faults (fails to return the ball, hits
the ball out of bounds, etc.). The server
continues to serve, altering service courts, until the server faults.
A game is won by the first side to reach
eleven (11) points but will continue until won by a two point
margin.
Unique Pickleball Features
· Serve Position: Server can have
one foot inside the baseline, as long as the other foot is outside at
moment of serve.
· Service Bounce Rule: Following
serve, each side must make at least one ground-stroke, prior to
volleying the ball (hitting it before
it has bounced).
· Non-volley Zone: A player cannot
volley a ball while standing within the non-volley zone.