Everything you need to know (and more!) about pickleball
Updated: 9:48 a.m. ET
I feel like I’m living a pickleball version of life, all right. You know, it was a game that I fell in love with in high school, and now, after years of playing it and watching it, I’ve never been happier. My son loves this game, and I love it. It’s a game that brings us together — it’s a big social time, and we just hang out.
If you’ve never pickedleball, it’s a great time to start. It combines elements of several other sports and traditions — tennis, golf, racquetball and volleyball — in a friendly, low-pressure, low-stress activity.
Here’s a run-down of the basics of pickingleball (including the game itself, rules and what to bring), and how to join in.
About pickingleball
Pickleball can be played on any flat surface, but it’s typically played indoors, on a floor that’s 6″ – 10″ deep. A typical court is 10″ – 12″ in diameter, and it typically has a 3-4 1/2″ high net, like the one shown above. (You could also play on a tennis court, if you prefer.)
The basic rules of pickleball are pretty simple:
Pick the ball before the other players use it, and you score one point.
Pick the ball behind the net and the goal, and you get to take the returner’s ball (unless the returner gives up the ball). Then you get to take 1/2 the returner’s points, and the other ball is lost.
When you play again, the ball is thrown to the center point of the net, and whoever has the ball first then scores on the first shot. (If two people are fighting over the ball, one gets one point, and the other gets two.)
The rule of “chasing the ball” is really just saying
