Pickleball
Pickleball
Pickleball is rapidly growing in popularity within Australia and you can now play it while staying with us too! Pickleball is a paddle and ball sport which can be played as singles or doubles on a hard surface indoors or outdoors. It is a fun and inclusive sport that can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities. If you want to have a friendly game while staying with us, please go to reception to collect the paddles and balls and return to reception once you are finished.
Rules of pickleball
If you have never played pickleball before, we have included a summary of rules below courtesy of Pickleball Australia’s website and a 2 minute video from Play Pickleball.
Basic Rules
- Pickleball is played either singles or doubles (two players per team).
- The same size playing area and rules are used for both singles and doubles.
- Any fair method can be used to determine which player or team has first choice of side, service, or receive. (Example: coin flip)
The Serve
- Every point begins with a serve from the base line.
- To serve, the ball must be hit underhand below the waist level.
- The serve is made diagonally crosscourt, clear the net and must land within the confines of the opposite diagonal court (not in the kitchen area).
- Only one serve attempt is allowed per server.
Serving Sequence*
- The first serve of each side is made from the right/even court.
- If a point is scored, the next serve is from the left/odd court.
- As subsequent points are scored, the server continues switching back and forth until a fault is committed, and the first server loses the serve.
- When the first server loses the serve the partner then serves from their correct side of the court.
- The second server continues serving until his team commits a fault and loses the serve to the opposing team.
- Once the service goes to the opposition, the first serve is from the right/even court and both players on that team have the opportunity to serve and score points until their team commits two faults.
- In singles the server serves from the right/even court when his or her score is even and from the left/odd when the score is odd.
*At the beginning of each new game only one partner on the serving team has the opportunity to serve before faulting, after which the service passes to the receiving team.
Important Two-Bounce Rule (double bounce rule)
- When the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning, and then the serving team must let it bounce before returning, thus two bounces.
- After the ball has bounced once in each team’s court, both teams may either volley the ball (hit the ball before it bounces) or play it off a bounce (ground stroke).
Scoring
- Points are scored only by the serving team.
- Games are normally played to 11 points, win by 2.
Line Calls
- A ball contacting any part of any line, except the non-volley zone line on a serve, is considered “in.”
- A serve contacting the non-volley zone line is short and a fault.
Non-Volley Zone
- The non-volley zone is commonly referred to as “the kitchen” which is the court area within 7 feet on both sides of the net.
- Volleying is prohibited within the non-volley zone. It is a fault if, when volleying a ball, the player steps on the non-volley zone, including the line.
- It is also a fault if, after volleying, a player is carried by momentum into or touches the non-volley zone, even if the volleyed ball is declared dead before this happens.
- A player may legally be in the non-volley zone any time other than when volleying a ball.
Faults
- A fault is any action that stops play because of a rule violation.
- A fault by the receiving team results in a point for the serving team.
- A fault by the serving team results in the server’s loss of serve or side out.