Joola is a German company that’s been around since 1950, and they’ve been making high-quality sports equipment for decades (starting with table tennis tables). They offer a range of pickleball paddles that are suitable for players of all skill levels.

Quality and Materials

One of the standout features of Joola pickleball paddles is their construction. The paddles are made from a composite material that’s designed to provide the perfect balance of power and control. This makes them great for players who want to hit hard and place their shots accurately.

Now if that sounds like a bunch of marketing gibberish, that’s because it is. But the thing that’s a little different about Joola is they have 70 years of experience manufacturing, researching, designing, and perfecting paddles (starting with tabble tennis). Also, they’re a German company, and they’re known for creating really high-quality products.

Joola paddles are built to last. They use high-quality materials and construction techniques to ensure that their paddles can withstand the rigors of regular play. This means you can expect your Joola paddle to hold up well over time, even if you use it frequently.

Grip

Another advantage of Joola paddles is their grip. The handle is textured to provide a secure and comfortable hold, even during long and intense matches. This is especially important if you tend to sweat a lot, as the grip will help prevent the paddle from slipping out of your hand.

Paddle Weight

Joola also offers a range of weight options for their paddles. This allows you to choose a paddle that’s right for your playing style and physical strength. If you’re a beginner, you may want to opt for a lighter paddle, as it will be easier to control. More advanced players may prefer a heavier paddle, as it will generate more power.

In addition to their standard paddles, Joola also offers a line of premium paddles that are designed for serious players. These paddles are made from higher-quality materials and feature advanced technologies that help improve performance. They may cost more, but they’re worth it if you’re looking to take your pickleball game to the next level.

Warranty

Joola paddles come with a manufacturer’s warranty, which covers any defects in material or workmanship. This means you can buy with confidence knowing that you’re protected if anything goes wrong with your paddle.

Pretty much every pickleball paddle brand offers a warranty, so this isn’t unique. However, some brands make it difficult or near-impossible to actually get your paddle replaced if there is an issue with it.

Also, some brands have much lower quality than Joola, meaning you’re more likely to get a paddle that just doesn’t “feel right” and has issues with small sweet spots or lack of bounce created by poor manufacturing.

Customer service

Joola is known for their excellent customer service. They have a team of knowledgeable and helpful staff who are happy to answer questions and assist with any issues you might have. This is especially important if you’re new to pickleball and need some guidance on which paddle to choose, or if you have any issues with the paddle and need to replace it.

Price

Joola paddles are generally competitively priced, especially considering their high quality. You can find paddles that range from around $50 for a basic model to over $200 for a premium paddle. This means you can find a Joola paddle that fits your budget, whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned pro.

Customizing a Joola Paddle

Some Joola paddles offer customization options, such as the ability to add your own name or logo. This is a nice touch if you want to personalize your paddle or use it to represent your team. It also makes for a great gift option!

Overall, Joola is a trusted brand that offers a wide range of pickleball paddles for players of all skill levels. Whether you’re just starting out or are an experienced pro, there’s a Joola paddle that’s right for you. So if you’re in the market for a new pickleball paddle, be sure to give Joola a look.

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

pickleballoasis.com

Paddle Fit

The first thing you need to make absolutely certain of is that you’re going to be able to use the paddle well.

That means the grip should fit your hands, the handle is the right size for your needs, it’s not too heavy or too light, and the face of the paddle is a size and type that works for you.

Grip Size

If the grip circumference is too big or small for your hands, it will force you to grip the paddle uncomfortably, making you much more likely to develop an injury like tennis elbow, so it’s important you pick a paddle with the right grip size or modify the grip on your paddle to better fit your hand.

Regardless of which paddle you have now or plan to buy, you might want to consider customizing your paddle grip with an over-grip tape so you can wrap your paddle handle to a better size for you.

Handle Length

The length of paddle handles range from 4″ to 6.25″ which is a huge difference. If you plan to use a two-handed backhand, you will most likely appreciate a much longer handle length so that you can more comfortable fit both hands on the grip.

If you don’t use a two-handed backhand and don’t plan to, simply pick a handle length that’s comfortable for you, or use other factors to decide which paddle to buy.

Paddle Weight

The weight of a paddle is a big deal because it will affect how much power you’ll get with each shot and how your paddle feels when you’re swinging it.

However, because you can simply buy lead tape and add as much as you need to any paddle to increase the weight significantly, the actual weight of the paddle you buy is not very important because it’s so easy to add more weight. In fact, we highly recommend you select lighter-weight paddles so you can try them out and then add as much tape as you need to find the perfect weight for you.

Performance

Once you’ve found some paddles that fit your body, it’s time to analyze their performance to see if it fits your play style and the type of feel you’re looking for when you play.

That means you need to understand the control, power, paddle face texture, and sweet spot or your paddles.

Control

Control is by far the most important factor for every Pickleball player, except maybe for a handful of pros. That’s because having great control of your shots so that you can place them in the right spot will more consistently help you win more points than hitting more powerful shots. “Placement over power” as they say.

Some powers have significantly more control or “touch” than other paddles, and unless you have a very good reason, we highly suggest you select paddles that give your more control instead of ones that give you more power.

Most pro players will play with paddles they feel give them more control in doubles. For singles, some pros will select paddles that give them more power so that they can hit better passing shots.

Power

Hitting powerful shots is a lot of fun and it’s an important part of the game at higher levels. Some paddles do produce significantly more power than others, so you should select a paddle that gives you good power. However, you should not simply look to maximize power while sacrificing control.

Sweet Spots

Every paddle has a different area where the sweet spots are and are not. The sweet spot is a spot on a paddle where when you hit the ball it bounces with full power. If you hit a ball with the center of your paddle, it will feel good and fly through the air with good power and accuracy. If you hit a ball close to the edge of your paddle, that might not be a sweet spot and you may lose power and consistency of your shots.

Sweet spots are notoriously hard to measure, so don’t take too much stock in what you read online about the sweet spots of one paddle or another. Try them out for yourself to see which ones feel better.

Price

Prices for pickleball paddles range from the cheapest for less than lunch to the most expensive at $160 or more.

If you’re shopping based on price, we highly recommend picking paddles that are affordable and come with some kind of performance guarantee. Buying a $40 paddle that wears out in a few months might end up costing you more than buying a much more expensive paddle that lasts longer.

Guarantees and Warranties

Some paddle companies like Paddletek and Engage provide warranties of up to a year and have very generous return and replacement policies, while some companies provide no warranties, guarantees, or replacements. We recommend making sure there’s a warranty for any paddle you buy, especially if you’re spending buying a more expensive paddle.

Composite Pickleball Paddles

Graphite Pickleball Paddles

Wood Pickleball Paddles

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

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1. Flat Drop Shot

A flat drop shot is the easiest drop shot to execute because it requires the least motion of your paddle, thus creating less room for error.

To hit a flat drop shot, you should:

• Set your front foot first
• Bend your knees so that you can push up with your legs creating a higher arc of your shot
• Transfer your weight from your back foot to your front foot by pushing up and forward with your legs and hips
• Use a 1-3 out of 10 (light) grip pressure to get a soft touch on the ball
• Fully extend your arm as you strike the ball
• Keep your swing path in a slightly up and forward motion with no sideways motion or rotation so that you do not add spin to the ball
• Contact the ball with an open paddle face (with your paddle face pointing up to the sky but still slightly forward)
• Strike the ball out in front of your body
• Aim for the ball to land in the opponent’s non-volley zone
• Hit the ball with a good amount of arc on it so that it reaches its apex in the air on your side of the net and begins dropping before crossing the net

2. Slice Drop Shot (Backspin)

A slice drop shot will have lots of backspin on it, forcing you to hit the ball with much less arc than a flat drop shot. The backspin will often cause the ball to skip once it hits the ground, often creating a more difficult shot for your opponents to return because it will not bounce as high as a flat drop shot in most cases.

To hit a slice drop shot, follow all the same steps for a flat drop shot, with these modifications:

• Use your triceps to push quickly as if you were chopping wood right before contacting the ball
• Change your swing path so that it is slightly more forward and less up compared to a flat drop shot

3. Topspin Drop Shot

The topspin drop shot is the rarest type of drop shot because it requires the most amount of paddle movement and thus has the highest risk of error

To hit a topspin drop shot, follow all the same steps for a flat drop shot, with these modifications:

• Make your swing path mostly upward with little to no forward movement of your paddle
• Bend your knees even more and use your legs to create a very strong upward thrusting movement
• Use your biceps to curl your arm upward forcefully and quickly as you lift with your legs to create a quick vertical swing of your paddle
• Use a closed or nearly closed paddle face (with your paddle face pointing directly towards the net or slightly above the net)
• Your follow-through on your swing should end around the height of your shoulder or head

Because the topspin drop shot is much harder to execute, you should only attempt it in situations where you are able to firmly set both feet. It’s not an ideal drop shot to hit on the run unless you have practiced it extensively.

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

pickleballoasis.com

Here’s what you need to focus on to improve your game whether you’re brand new or playing at 5.0.

1. Good Pickleball Footwork

Footwork is the #1 most important part of hitting ANY shot in Pickleball (or tennis, racquetball, ping pong, paddle, or any other sport for that matter).

To understand why footwork is so important, imagine a ball that’s bouncing 6 feet to your right. Can you hit it without moving your feet? Of course not!

But Footwork isn’t just about getting your body to the ball, it’s about getting your body set in the right place so that you can execute your ideal swing path to hit the ball exactly where you want it to go.

How will you know when you have good footwork?

You’ll know you have good footwork on a shot when you are:

• Balanced before, during, and after the shot
• Your swing feels natural and relaxed
• After the shot, you’re able to easily split step and get back to a good position on the court so that you’re ready for the next shot

2. Balance

You should be balanced before, during, and after every shot (except in extreme circumstances). If you lose balance at any point during drills, that is an area that you need to work on.

To maintain good balance, make sure that you:

• Have a wide base for your feet. If your feet are too close together, you will not be able to balance well. That’s why all pro players have a very wide base with bent knees on almost every shot.
• Know which foot your weight is on primarily before, during, and after the shot. In general, your weight should always be on your rear foot before the shot and you should move your weight to your front foot as you swing so that you generate forward momentum and power with your shot.
• Use your empty hand to create balance (your empty hand should be up and follow a similar swing path as the hand that holds the paddle to create balance).

3. Hip Thrust

Every good shot in Pickleball requires consistent power, even if it’s a very gentle drop shot. That power should always start with your hips and core activating because these are your biggest muscles that will create the most consistency for touch shots and the most power for drives or overheads.

Even for a baby dink shot, you should always generate the power from your hips and legs and use a soft grip to create the touch on the shot.

4. Hip and Shoulder Rotation

Every shot in Pickleball should be hit with hip and shoulder rotation. Sometimes there will be only a few inches of rotation and swing (like a dink or block volley), while other shots will require a lot of rotation (such as a rolling cross-court forehand volley).

In order to use effective hip and shoulder rotation on each shot, you must keep your body as relaxed as possible. Each shot should feel smooth.

Make sure that you do not over-rotate your hips and shoulders. Many beginners have far too MUCH swing in their shots caused by way too much rotation of their hips and shoulders, and that will lead to a less consistent shot. Even more importantly, that will lead to you not being ready for the next shot, causing you to lose the point.

Once you strike the ball, you should tighten up your swing and get back to a neutral (ready) position as soon as possible so you can hit the next shot.

5. Proper Arm Movement

When you generate your power with your hips and legs and you properly rotate your hips and shoulders, your arms should be doing little to no work at all for every shot. Your arms should be relaxed.

You should not be using your arms to swing or direct the ball or to generate power on 99% of shots.

You should strike the ball out in front of your body as much as possible. That means your arm should always be FULLY extended as you hit the ball for every shot, whether you’re dinking, driving, or hitting a volley.

Focus on your elbow. Is it fully extended for every volley shot you hit? If not, you’re hitting the ball too late and you’re going to hit bad volleys.

6. Keep your Wrist Firm

Your wrist should be firm and locked for almost every shot. Do not use your wrist to generator power or spin unless you’re hitting a ball that requires an enormous amount of topspin (like a heavy topspin lob or a topspin flick attack).

If your wrist is not firm and locked, you will lose power and consistency for all of your dinks, drop shots, drives, and volleys.

7. Use the Correct Grip Pressure

Grip pressure is how hard you squeeze the grip of your paddle. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being almost no pressure and 10 being squeezing as hard as you possibly can, this is what your grip pressure should be:

• Dinks: 1-2
• Drop shots: 2-3
• Drop volleys: 2-4
• Flick attack volleys: 3-4
• Hard volleys: 8-10
• Hard serves: 8-10
• Hard drives: 8-10

You’ll notice that soft touch shots require a very soft grip pressure while hard, deep shots require a lot of grip pressure.

That’s because the less you grip the paddle, the more touch and finesse and spin you’ll be able to transfer to the ball, while the harder you grip the paddle the more power and depth you’ll be able to transfer to the ball.

8. Always Look at the Ball

You should always keep your eyes on the ball before and during your swing and as you hit the ball.

Use your peripheral vision to see where your opponents are and where to aim your shot, but always keep your eyes locked in on the ball for every shot!

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

pickleballoasis.com

Here’s a comprehensive list of Pickleball terms that’ll help you understand the game better.

Pickleball Terms

Ace: A serve that is not returned by the opposing team.

Around the Post (ATP): A shot that his hit around the net post instead of over the net, made possible because the opposing team hit a cross-court shot with a steep angle.

Backhand: A shot made on your non-dominant side (the back of your hand will be turned toward the net when you hit the ball).

Block: A volley shot with little or no swing intended simply to defend against a fast shot from your opponent.

Body Shot: A shot hit directly at high speed at a player with the intention of hitting them in order to win the point. NEVER hit a body shot at a beginner because you could injure them if they don’t know how to defend themselves. NEVER aim a body shot at someone’s head, neck, or face. The ideal spot to aim a body shot is at a player’s dominant shoulder. If the opponent dodges the body shot, it will almost certainly land out of bounds, so it is a high-risk shot and best executed when a player’s feet are not set so they cannot quickly move out of the way.

Cross-Court: The side of the court diagonally opposite your side of the court. When serving, you must hit the ball cross-court to your opponent.

Dead Ball: A dead ball is a ball that’s no longer in play because it was called out or a fault was called. Note: “Dead ball” could also be used informally for a ball that is broken, misshapen, or otherwise unusable for play.

Dink: A dink shot is a soft shot that bounces low and often lands inside or near the non-volley zone. The purpose of a dink is to hit an “unattackable” shot so that your opponents can’t hit down on the ball for an easy winning shot.

Double-Bounce Rule: This rule states that when the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce once before hitting the ball, and the serving team must let it bounce once before hitting the ball. Thus, you can only hit a volley in Pickleball starting on the fourth shot of each point (The first shot is the serve, and the second and third shots must follow the double-bounce rule).

Double Bounce: When the ball bounces twice on one side of the court. A double bounce is always a fault. 

Double Hit: When the ball hits a player’s paddle (or hand holding the paddle) twice before going over the net. Double hits are legal if it happens naturally as part of one continuous motion. Double hits are not legal if it hits part of your paddle and then you swing again to hit it a second time.

Drive: A fast-paced groundstroke shot, ideally hit just over the net with topspin to make sure it lands inside the baseline. Often used for third-shots (but not as often as drop shots among pro players).

Drop Shot: A shot that is hit softly over the net and often into the non-volley zone. Ideal drop shots are unattackable because they bounce very low.

Drop volley: A volley shot that is hit soft and short, ideally with backspin and into the non-volley zone.

Dura: A Dura Fast 40 brand of Pickleball. It used to be the most commonly used pall in tournaments, but now the Franklin X-40 is.

Ernie: A volley where a player either jumps over the non-volley zone or runs around or through it (and establishes their feet outside the non-volley zone) in order to hit the ball as close to the net as possible. It is illegal to hit an Ernie if you cross the plane of the net with any part of your body or paddle before striking the ball (it’s totally okay to cross the plane of the net after striking the ball on your side of the net).

Fault: Any action that stops play because of a rule violation. If the receiving team faults, the serving team gets a point. If the serving team faults, there will be a loss of serve or a side out.

Flick: A flick is a shot where you flick your wrist up while lifting up with your legs to create a heavy topspin shot. Players often aim to disguise their flicks as dinks to create a surprise attack.

Forehand: A shot made with your palm facing forward on the dominant side of your body.

Franklin: A Franklin X-40 brand Pickleball. The most commonly used ball for Pickleball tournaments.

Groundstroke: A shot made after the ball bounces on your side of the court. In a sense, it is the opposite of a volley where a ball is hit before it bounces on your side of the court. Often, when a player uses the term groundstroke they’re referring to a deep ball hit after it bounces deep into the other side of the court.

Half Volley: A groundstroke where the ball is hit immediately after it bounces from the court before the ball rises to its apex. Because half volleys are hit immediately after the bounce, they can often catch your opponents off-guard.

Inside Out Shot (or “IO”): A shot hit in the opposite direction of your swing path by turning your wrist away from your swing path. Inside Out shots can often surprise your opponents because the ball will go in a different direction than your swing would indicate.

Let: A serve that hits the net and then lands in the service court. Let serves are replayed indefinitely until a fault or legal serve is hit.

Lob: A high shot often hit deep into the court with the intention of hitting over the opponent’s head so they cannot hit an overhead and must run into the back of the court in order to return it.

Loss of Serve: When the serving team gets a fault during the first server’s point. After a loss of serve, the second server on the serving team will serve next.

Nasty Nelson: When the server hits the returner’s partner intentionally in order to win the point. Although it is a legal way to win a point, these shots are highly frowned upon and can cause serious injuries, so you should be extremely cautious attempting this shot. NEVER hit a Nasty Nelson against any beginner, anyone with an injury, or any person you do not have a very close relationship with.

Net Spin: Net spin is a term for the additional spin or change of spin that occurs when a ball hits the net and then hits the ground. Any ball that hits the net will have its spin changed, sometimes causing balls to bounce unpredictably once they strike the ground.

Overhead: A shot that is hit with the paddle over your head. You can hit a forehand or backhand overhead, although forehands are almost always superior given the awkwardness of hitting backhand overhead.

Placement: A term for the trajectory of your ball and where it lands on the court. A common saying is that “Placement is more important than power” because you can hit a soft ball placed somewhere on the court where your opponent can’t reach it or can’t hit a good shot, allowing you to win far more points than simply hitting a ball with lots of power and poor placement. Generally speaking, the best placement for most shots is at your opponent’s feet or slightly behind their feet on their backhand side.

Rally: All the shots made during a point constitute a rally. Players will often say “Great ralley!” after a fun or exceptional point.

Roller / Rolling Shot: A shot that is hit with a lot of topspin by “rolling” the paddle over the pall in an arcing motion.

Side Out:  When a team loses its service and the other team gets to serve next.

Skip: Balls hit with lots of spin will skip, meaning they will bounce much lower and sometimes in a certain direction in a way they would not without spin. Balls also skip extra hard on many courts when they land on court lines because of extra sand used in the lines which causes more friction, thus creating an amplified effect from the spin of the ball. If you see a ball skip extra hard near a line, chances are it hit the line, which is why when a ball skips near the outer lines of the court, players should almost always call the ball in.

Slice: Any shot hit with heavy backspin. Most professional players hit serve returns with a slice on their forehand and backhand side.

Split Step: A technique used by all top players in tennis and Pickleball where you jump slightly as the opponent strikes the ball and use that stored momentum from the landing in order to move more quickly towards the ball to set up for your shot.

Tutor: Short for Pickleball Tutor ball machine, a commonly used ball machine for practice.

Tweener (Between the Legs): A shot where you hit the ball behind your body and through your legs.

Volley: Any shot hit in the air before the ball gets a chance to bounce on your side of the court. Volleys are illegal if your feet are inside the non-volley zone or if they are hit on the 2nd or 3rd shot of a point (Because of the double-bounce rule).

Pickleball Court Terms

All of the terms below are related to the Pickleball court.

Baseline: The back line of the court that runs parallel to the net. Your feet cannot touch or cross the baseline until after you hit your serve (it’s okay for your momentum to take you across the baseline after you hit the serve). Any shot that lands beyond the opponent’s baseline is out-of-bounds.

Centerline: The centerline splits each side of the court into the right and left side as it runs from the non-volley zone to the baseline.

Sideline: The sideline runs perpendicular to the net on either side of the court. Any shot that lands beyond the opponent’s sideline is out-of-bounds.

Transition Area: The area of court in front of the baseline but behind the non-volley zone.

No Mans Land: A nickname for the Transition area.

Non-Volley Zone: The area within 7 feet on both sides of the net where volleying is not allowed if your feet are inside the zone or touching its boundary lines.

Kitchen: A nickname for the non-volley zone. We highly recommend you don’t use this term because it is confusing to players whereas “non-volley zone” is self-explanatory once you know what a volley is.

Service Courts: The areas on the left and right side of the centerline, bounded by the non-volley zone line, the baseline, and the sideline.

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

pickleballoasis.com

Here’s how.

Pickleball Serve Return Technique

First, it’s important to understand how to hit a good Pickleball serve because you need to know the ideal serve in order to hit an ideal return.

A good Pickleball serve is a deep serve that hits near the baseline (a perfect Pickleball serve is one that hits on the baseline and skids).

Because the best serves are deep serves, you must learn how to return deep serves effectively.

That’s why you must…

Stand 4′ Behind the Baseline

When you set your feet to get ready to return a serve, you should be standing about 4′ behind the baseline. You will need to be well behind the baseline in order to return a deep serve. If you are standing on the baseline and the server hits a ball that lands on the baseline, the only possible way for you to return that ball is while you’re stumbling backwards trying to swipe at it, leading to a very poor serve return.

Standing behind the baseline allows you to move your body weight forward into your shot even if it’s a deep serve the opponent hits, which is exactly what you need—forward momentum allows you to hit an effective deep serve return.

Split Step

Right as your opponent is contacting the ball with their serve, you should split step. This allows momentum to be stored in your achilles tendon that allows you to immediately push off either of your feet in the direction of where you need to go to hit an effective serve return.

If you find yourself often missing serve returns because you didn’t get to the ball fast enough, you are most likely not split stepping or not split stepping early enough.

Set Your Front Foot

Before you even begin to swing your paddle, you must set your front foot. This allows you to transfer your weight from your back foot to your front foot, creating forward momentum for a consistent serve return.

Set Your Paddle

While you’re setting your front foot, you should be setting your paddle where you need it to be to execute the proper shot.

If you’re hitting a backhand slice return, for example, your paddle should be set at shoulder height or slightly lower so that you can hit your swing at a downward arc in order to create a strong backspin slice return.

Shift Your Weight

Right after you set your front foot on the ground, you need to transfer your weight from the back foot to the front foot by pushing forward with your legs and hips.

At the same time as you shift your weight by pushing with your lower body, you should begin your swing so that your entire body is moving with one fluid motion to hit the ball.

Contact the Ball In Front of Your Body

Whether you’re hitting a forehand or a backhand return, you must contact the ball in front of your body with your elbow at or near full extension in order to maximize your consistency and depth of your return.

Grip Pressure

Make sure your grip pressure is very firm when you hit the ball so you can hit it deep. A loose grip will cause your return to be too short, allowing your opponents to hit an aggressive third-shot drive.

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the firmest you could possibly grip the paddle handle and 1 being the lightest, your grip should be an 8-10 when you strike the ball. Feel free to hold the paddle lightly as you begin to swing and then tighten your grip right before impact.

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

pickleballoasis.com

The net height in Pickleball should be 36″ on the sides and 34″ in the middle.

There should be a line for the No-Volley Zone (NVZ, sometimes called the kitchen informally) that creates a space 7′ from the net on both sides of the court (that leaves 15′ of open court outside the No-Volley Zone on both sides of the court).

How to Make a Pickleball Court

If you’re going to build a Pickleball court at home, in a park, or anywhere else, you’re going to need to make sure you have enough room. Even though the dimensions of the court are only 20 feet x 44 feet, you really need more space than that to play the game because players will often have to run or move off court in order to play the game.

So, to build a court you will need an area of at least 30′ x 60′ at a minimum to provide a safe area for players to play the game on and off the court as it is designed to be played. Ideally, I believe the space should be at least 36′ x 60′ so that players have enough space to run sideways to hit balls that bounce off-court and hit ATPs (Around the Post shots) without fear of running into other players or obstacles and injuring themselves.

If you build a court with a total area of space on and off court of 36′ x 60′, players will have 8′ of space behind the court and on the both sides of the court, allowing them enough room to effectively and safely serve and return deep serves, hit ATP shots, and hit shots at an angle that bounce off to the sides of the court.

You can search online for companies in your area that can build a Pickleball court for you. Just make sure you ask them to design the space around the Pickleball court with enough room on the ends and sides of the court for safe and fun play.

Trust me, if you build a court with less than 8′ of space on each side of the court, some players will complain and possibly get injured because of the lack of open space to play the game as it’s meant to be played. Many courts have only about 6′ of space on the sides and ends, and that amount of space can work, but 8′ is even better.

Make Sure You Have Enough Space for Pickleball Courts

Far too many Pickleball courts have been built by well-meaning people in public parks and at homes with too little space for competitive, safe Pickleball games. Many public Pickleball courts are not used because they don’t have enough space.

For example, I once played on a public court in Indiana where the court was surrounded by fencing with an area of 28′ x 54′, meaning you were likely to hit the fence on every serve and serve return shot, and on any shot hit at an angle that bounced off the court. Needless to say, I never again played at that court (and no one else I know plays there either).

Please don’t waste your money or time building a permanent Pickleball court that doesn’t have enough space to be used safely!

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

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Pickleball Serving Rules

You must hit your serve diagonally from your starting side of the court to the opposite side of the court.

The first serve of each game will always be made from the even (right-handed) side of the court to the even (right-handed) side of the opposite court.

Once you hit the ball, it must pass over the net and land beyond the opponent’s non-volley-zone (NVZ, also called the kitchen).

You must hit the ball on your serve with an underhand swing with the paddle below the waist, and the server must keep both feet behind the back line when serving. You can step over the baseline after you hit the ball on your serve, but not before.

You cannot bounce the ball before serving. You must throw the ball or drop it from your hand and hit the ball in the air before it bounces.

Service Lets

If your serve hits the net and lands beyond the opponent’s NVZ and in-bounds, it’s called a let serve and you must serve again.

However, if your serve hits the net and lands inside the NVZ or on one of the lines of the NVZ or out-of-bounds, that is a service fault and your team loses that point. The next person in line will serve next, whether that’s your partner, or, in the case of a side out, the opposite team.

Who Serves Next in Pickleball?

The server will continue to serve the ball every time you win a point. If your team loses the point, then the next player in line will serve.

Pickleball Serve Rotations

At the beginning of each serve, you must call the score. There are 3 numbers in a Pickleball score.

Before the first serve of every game, the server will call out “0-0-2.” The first zero means “my team has 0 points,” the second zero means “the opposing team has 0 points” and the third number means “This is my team’s second serve (so the opposing team will serve the next point if we don’t win this point).”

If the server wins that point, he will switch sides with his partner and serve from the odd court (left-handed side of the court) and call out the score “1-0-2” meaning “my team has 1 point, your team has 0 points, and it’s our second serve so the opponents will serve next if we lose this point).”

If your serve hits the line of the no-volley zone, that counts as out of bounds and a service fault. The next player in line will serve.

After beginning of each new game, the first serving team is only allowed one service fault or loss of point before the opponents are allowed to serve next. After that, each team will have two serving opportunities (one for each player).

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

pickleballoasis.com

Pritchard owned a badminton court on his property and they began playing a game they invented on that badminton court, which came to be known as Pickleball. That’s why the dimensions of a Pickleball court are exactly the same as the dimensions of a badminton court (for badminton doubles).

Because they didn’t have access to badminton racquets, they switched to playing the game with ping pong paddles and a wiffle ball.

As the families played the game more and shared it with friends, they made some changes like lowering the net from 60″ to 36″ because the balls didn’t bounce much higher than 36″ on their asphalt court. Pritchard and Bell introduced the game to Barney McCullum, and together the three fathers began discussions on what the rules of the game should be.

In 1967, Pritchard built the first permanent pickleball court in the backyard of his neighbor, Bob O’Brian. The game quickly grew through word of mouth, and in 1972 Pickle-ball Inc. was founded as the very first company to create paddles, nets, and balls specifically for the new sport of Pickleball, helping to turn the game into a legitimate sport.

Since then, the sport has steadily grown and is now one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

Why is it called Pickleball?

Joan Pritchard (Joel’s wife) came up with the name of Pickleball because something about the game made her think of the term “pickle boat” (which means the last boat to finish a race).

However, the most common story told seems to be created after the fact: that the game was named after a dog. The Pritchards had a dog named Pickles who loved to chase and pick up the wiffle balls when they played, but the family claims the dog was named after the game because they didn’t get the dog until two years after the game was created.

Because the story about the game being named after their dog was more memorable and catchy, that’s the story that has been featured the most in the media, interviews, online, and by word-of-mouth.

Why is it called the kitchen in Pickleball?

We’re not sure why the No-Volley Zone is commonly called the kitchen. No-Volley Zone is the official term for the zone nearest to the net where you’re not allowed to stand while hitting volleys. (A volley is a shot where you hit the ball in the air before it bounces on your side of the court).

How many people play Pickleball?

According to Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) 2017 Pickleball Participant Report, Pickleball has 2.815 million players in the US alone. Some claim Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the world, but we weren’t able to verify this claim.

Why is Pickleball so popular?

Pickleball is incredibly popular for many reasons: it’s fun to play for beginners and pros alike, it’s easy to learn, it’s very similar to tennis, it is faster-paced than tennis (you’ll hit the ball about 3x in Pickleball for each time someone hits a tennis ball once), and the game is very socially enjoyable because it’s often played as doubles (2 vs. 2).

Interview with the Founder of Pickleball

Here’s an interview with Barney McCallum, one of the early co-inventors of the game of Pickleball, sharing the story of how Pickleball started.

Tom Corson-Knowles

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of Pickleball Oasis and plays Pickleball around the 4.5 level. He loves Pickleball and plays several days a week. He also takes regular lessons from one of the top Pickleball players and coaches in the world. He’s also a bestselling author and founder of TCK Publishing, a book publishing company.

pickleballoasis.com