How To Play Pickleball

It’s hard to deny the exponential growth of Pickleball’s popularity these past few years. Pickleball courts have been popping up in neighborhoods across the country – from Central Park in NYC, to our own grounds of The Ritz Carlton O’ahu, Turtle Bay on Oahu. Pickleball has firmly established itself in our culture, and it’s here to stay. 

The Ritz Carlton O’ahu, Turtle Bay offers guests and the community oceanside Pickleball courts to learn the game or improve skills. Equipment rentals are included with court reservations. For those thinking of picking up a paddle, we’ve put together a guide on how to play pickleball:

Serving:

• Use any fair method of deciding which side serves first. When in doubt, flip a coin!
• The first serve will be made from the right hand side of the court.
• Serves must land cross-court to the opposite corner across the net.
• Serves follow a two-bounce rule, meaning both the serve and the return must bounce.
• Serves can be either underhand or drop serves.
• The rectangular area surrounding the net is known as The Kitchen. A serve that lands in The Kitchen is ruled out.
• Both players on a doubles team will get the chance to serve.
• Singles players will only get one chance to serve each rally.

Gameplay:

• After the serve and return, the ball can be hit out of the air as a volley or off a bounce.
• The ball is hit back and forth until someone makes a fault.
• A fault can be hitting the ball out of bounds, hitting after a double bounce, or hitting into the net.
• Shots that land within the court or on the lines are in.
• No volleys are allowed to be made while standing in The Kitchen.

Scoring:

• Only the serving team can score points.
• If the serving team wins a rally, they score a point and then they’ll switch sides with the opposing team. The same server will still serve, but from the opposite corner.
• If the serving team loses the rally, the serve then goes to the other player on the team.
• The first team to 11 points wins, and the winning team has to be ahead by at least 2 points.

The similarities to tennis are obvious when it comes to pickleball, but the smaller court and easier-to-manage equipment makes pickleball a more accessible sport for all ages and athletic prowess.