Sports Equipment

 The Court

The game is played on a court that is the same size as a badminton court (20 feet wide by 44 feet long). The net is set at 36 inches high on the edges and 34 inches in the middle.

Terminology

Baseline— The line at the back of the pickleball court (22 feet from the net).

Centerline— The line bisecting the service courts that extends from the non-volley zone line to the baseline.

Crosscourt— The opponent’s court diagonally opposite yours.

Dink— A soft, low shot, initiated from within or just behind the non-volley zone, that lands in the opponent’s non-volley zone.

Double Bounce Rule— After a serve, each team must play their first shot off the bounce, after which the ball can be played off the bounce or volleyed.

Fault— An infringement of the rules that ends the rally.

Foot Fault— Failure to keep at least one foot behind the baseline and touching the ground at the moment the middle contacts the ball during a serve, or stepping on or into the non-volley zone while volleying a ball.

Let Serve— A serve that touches the top of the net and lands in the proper service court (it is replayed without penalty).

Non-Volley Zone— A seven-foot area adjacent to the net within which you may not volley the ball. The non-volley zone usually includes all lines around it.

Poach— In doubles, to cross over into your partner’s area to play a ball.

Rally— Hitting the ball back and forth between opponents.

Serve (Service)— An underhand lob or drive stroke used to put a ball into play at the beginning of a point.

Server Number— When playing doubles, either “1” or “2,” depending on whether you are the first or second server for your side. This number is appended to the score when it is called.

Sideline— The line at the side of the court.

Volley— To hit the ball before it bounces.
Written in part with Wikipedia:

Pickleball was created in 1965 by co-inventors U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard, William Bill Bell and Barney McCallum as a sport for the entire family.The name “Pickleball®” may have come from a family dog named “Pickles” who chased after balls and hid them. Pickle’s ball eventually became the name of the game “Pickleball®”. People played the game in their backyards on a hard surface, driveways and even on dead-end streets. Since the mid-1970s Pickleball® expanded to a court sport with rules and is now played in thousands of school physical education programs, parks, communities, YMCAs, etc. It has become very popular with senior citizens and PE teachers use this game as a lead up game for teaching racquet skills. It is played indoors or outdoors on a hard surfaced 20′ x 44′ area (size of a badminton court).

Standard pickleball equipment consists of a tennis-height net (34″ in the center), a plastic perforated baseball [whiffleball] and wood or composite paddles.