It’s amazing how fast this sport is growing. During the course of my day today, in two business zoom meetings “pickleball” came up for some reason. I can’t remember any time in my career where a sport instantly connects people and puts a smile on people’s faces. Both people were pickleball beginners and asked me for help in improving their game. I told them, the best way to improve is to understand the game. That’s why I created this Pickleball Insights blog…to help simplify the learning process vs having to jump all over the internet. This post is all about how to play pickleball – videos and tips. Let’s go!
Pickleball Terms
If you’re new to pickleball, get ready to expand your vocabulary. Some pickleball terms are intuitive: serve, volley, baseline, side out, ralley , etc. Then some terms are a bit odd: kitchen, non-volley zone, poach, etc. We’ve pulled together an overview of a bunch of pickleball terms you’ll hear around the pickleball court.
Enjoy this article titled PIckleball Terms.
Pickleball Court Dimensions
When you first look at pickleball court dimensions you’ll notice that a pickleball court is smaller than a tennis court, but around the same size as a badminton court. A pickleball court measures 44 feet long (inclusive of lines) and 20 feet wide (inclusive of lines). Many locations convert one tennis court into four pickleball courts.
Enjoy this article titled Pickleball Court Dimensions.
Pickleball Paddles
Finding the best pickleball paddle to suit your game can be a tricky task. As pickleball continues to explode in popularity across the United States, more pickleball brands are releasing the latest innovations in pickleball paddle tech. Never has it been more difficult to select the paddle that is right for you.
SELECTING THE RIGHT PICKLEBALL PADDLE
- Do your research.
- Demo a few paddles. see which ones you like and which paddle suits your game. Many pro-shops have demo paddles available. Some website provide a 30-day trial period. Again, do your research and demo away. That’s the best way for you to get a feel for the right one for you.
- As your game evolves, so might your paddle.
Here is a page dedicated to some great options, videos and articles to learn more about Pickleball Paddles.
Pickleball Rules
Understanding pickleball rules and the nuances of the game are important. Also, each year new pickleball rules are rolled out – some are celebrated and some are not. However there are a set of pickleball rules which people new to pickleball need to learn.
We built another page dedicated to Pickleball Rules to help using videos and articles.
Pickleball Scoring
For many pickleball beginners, learning how to play pickleball starts with understanding pickleball scoring. It is odd and does take a bit of time to grasp. I know plenty of experienced players who still lose track of the score or say the score wrong before they serve.
We built a Pickleball Scoring page with a few professionally created pickleball videos aimed at improving your understanding of pickleball scoring.
Pickleball Beginner Videos
I found the best way to help pickleball beginners is to have the watch some videos, attend a few camps or clinics, get a private lesson or two, join a pickleball beginners league and just start playing. Once you get your basic skills in place, I then recommend people fine a drilling partner to work on shots. The more you touch the ball, the more you’ll build your skills and confidence. Personally I like to drill at least twice per week and play twice per week. When you play, push yourself to play games with people “better” than you. I suggest playing 30% of your games against higher skilled opponents. That’s me…spend the time to figure out what works for you.
Here is another page dedicated to Pickleball Beginners with videos, articles and more.
Pickleball Skill Levels
The sport is amazing in so many way. It’s great fun, a solid workout and their are people of all ages and skill levels available to you for games. There are also a ton of pickleball tournaments available too. That may take you a bit to jump into, however pickleball tournaments are super fun and very social. Below are links to pages for each skill level. There were created with skills and strategies in mind – which shots are best aligned to which skill level. Also, some pickleball videos in these skill levels are aspirational…meaning, they are included to push yourself to improve your game.
Pickleball 3.0 Videos and Articles
Pickleball 3.5 Videos and Articles
Pickleball 4.0 Videos and Articles
Pickleball Courts Near Me
With the growth of the sport, we are seeing new courts popping up everywhere. Some are indoor pickleball courts, some are outdoor – some are private clubs and some are public courts at public parks. We’ve pulled together about 2,500 pickleball courts for your reference. If you are looking for a pickleball court near you or if you are traveling to a new city and want to head over for a challenge court game, take a look at this Pickleball Courts resource. We are also open to hearing about new courts and updating our data to keep it accurate. Enjoy and have fun.