So you want to become a great pickleball player, but you’re still confused by some of the terms? Don’t worry! By the end of this article, you’ll know all the pickleball terms, so the next time you step onto the court, you’ll sound like you’ve been playing for years!
Related:
Net
Similar to tennis and badminton, a pickleball court has a net in the middle. Interestingly, it is 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches down the middle, which is lower than a tennis net.
Dink
In pickleball, dink is not short for ‘Dual Income, No Kids.’ Instead, it’s a type of shot where the ball barely passes the net and lands in the opponent’s Non-Volley Zone, aka the Kitchen.
Non-volley Zone / Non-volley Line (Kitchen Zone)
In pickleball, kitchen is not the actual area in your home where you cook. Instead, it is an area on either side of the net where you can’t volley the ball. The good news is that you can step forward and hit the ball after it has bounced.
The Non-Volley Line (NVZ) is the line that marks this zone. Stepping on it during a volley is a fault.
Volley
Speaking of volley, what is it? Well, it’s a pickleball term for hitting the ball in the air before it hits or bounces on your side of the court.
Fault
Fault is another basic pickleball term, which basically means that an action (a volley or another shot) violates the pickleball rules. If you commit a fault, it can lead to a loss of rally or a point.
Rally
A rally is the active play between the teams that starts with the serve and ends with a point-ending mistake. Piece of cake, right? Well, here’s the catch: rallies in pickleball can turn from soft dinks to smashes in a split second.
Dead Ball
A dead ball means that the ball is no longer in play. This happens when there’s a fault, an out-of-bounds shot, or when the point ends. When the ball is dead, you should stop playing, even if you could have returned it.
Drop Shot
This is another strategic shot you play to trick your opponent. This time you shot softly from the back or middle of the court, making the ball land in the Kitchen and not bounce very far. Use this shot when your opponent is standing back too far on the court.
Server Number
In doubles, the server number (1 or 2) dictates whose turn it is and is part of the score call (e.g., 0-0-2 to start).
When your team gets the serve, your teammate on the right side is server 1. They serve, alternating courts on points won, until your team faults. Then, you become server 2 and serve until your team faults again.
After you and your partner have faulted, it’s a “side out” (serve goes to opponents).
Exception: The team starting the game gets only one service turn (that player is server 2). After that, both players on a team serve.
Third Shot Drop
This is a bit more complex than a drop shot since it involves, as its name suggests, three shots. It goes this way:
- The first shot is the serve.
- The second shot is the return.
- In the third shot, the ball is dropped softly into the Kitchen.
Double Bounce Rule
This rule just means that you and your opponent should let the ball to bounce once before returning or hitting the ball. After two bounces, players are allowed to hit a volley.
Lob
This is a high, deep shot meant to fly over your opponent’s head. It is especially useful when the opponents are close to the net and you want to make them lose the ball or back them off.
Poach
A poach is a strategic move made when playing in doubles. So, what does it look like? Well, one player crosses over to their partner’s side (specifically crossing the centerline) to hit a ball. Poach is ideal when you’re guessing your opponent’s next shot, especially during soft returns or when they’re targeting the weaker player.
Sideline
Just like other sports like basketball and tennis, the sidelines are markers that tell you where you should and shouldn’t play. The sideline becomes especially important when you’re returning a wide serve or chasing a cross-court dink. One toe over the line and it’s out. That’s why footwork and spatial awareness are everything in pickleball.
Overhead
This is the pickleball equivalent of a smash in tennis. It is an aggressive, downward shot that a player does when the ball is high in the air. If the opponent lobs it to you and you slam it back, you have done an overhead.
Groundstroke
A groundstroke is a shot hit after the ball bounces once, making it the opposite of a volley. An example would be when someone serves to you and you let it bounce before hitting it back.
Soft Shot
This is a general term for any gentle shot, like a dink or drop shot. These are strategic, not aggressive, and good for changing the pace and forcing mistakes.
Erne
An Erne happens when a player jumps outside the sideline and hits the ball in the air close to the net, usually while landing outside the court. It’s legal and very cool when done right. As you might have expected, it requires timing, positioning, and guts.
Out Of Bounds
If you happen to hit a ball and it goes outside the designated court lines, that means it’s out of bounds. The overall pickleball court measures 20 feet wide by 44 feet long. Here’s where it gets interesting:
- Doubles: The entire 20-foot width of the court (using the outer sidelines) is in play for all shots after the serve.
- Singles: While the physical court is still 20 feet wide, the effective playing width for rallies is defined by the inner sidelines (the same lines that form the sides of the service boxes in doubles).
Backhand
It is a stroke made with the paddle sweeping across your body, but opposite your dominant hand’s side. To make it simple, if you’re right-handed, your left side is your backhand side.
Forehand
A forehand is the most natural swing for most players because you will use your dominant hand. In short, if you’re right-handed, hitting on your right side is a forehand.
Half Volley
A half volley is a shot where the ball is hit immediately after it bounces, almost off the ground. But remember, it is not a full volley and not a groundstroke either. It’s a fast-reacting shot, often used when the ball lands unexpectedly close.
Backcourt
The backcourt is the area near the baseline at the far end of each side of the court. Players often hang back here after serving or when preparing for a lob return. Advanced players usually try to move forward and control the game near the net.
Foot Fault
A foot fault is an illegal foot placement, resulting in a fault.
- Serve foot fault: During the serve, your feet must be behind the baseline and not touch it until the ball is hit.
- Kitchen foot fault (Non-Volley Zone fault): You cannot touch the Non-Volley Zone (or its lines) while volleying, nor can your momentum carry you into it after the volley.
- Jumping and volleys: It’s a fault to volley while in the air if you took off from within the NVZ or if you land in the NVZ after the volley (unless you jumped from outside the NVZ, like for an Erne, and landed outside).
Spin
It’s when a player hits the ball in a way that makes it rotate rapidly, affecting how it bounces or moves through the air. These are three types of spin:
- Topspin: the ball dips downward after rising. Great for deep drives.
- Backspin: the ball floats and dies rapidly. Lethal on dinks and drop shots. I’ll explain more below.
- Side spin: curves the ball sideways. Ideal for tricky serves or dink shots.
You can create spin by brushing your paddle across the ball at an angle. A topspin? Brush up and over. Backspin? Cut under. Side spin? Swipe across.
Body Bag
A body bag or body shot is when a player hits the ball directly to the opponent’s torso. And yes, it’s legal and can even score a point. If your opponent’s crowding the net and daring you to go around them, a well-placed body shot is a valid solution.
That said, when you get body-bagged, remember that it happens to everyone. Don’t take it personally; take it as a sign to improve your reaction time or positioning.
No Man’s Land (The Transition Zone)
No man’s land is the area between the kitchen line and the backcourt. You want to pass through this zone quickly while moving up or back because it makes you vulnerable to soft and hard shots.
So, after returning or serving, either stay back or stretch up to the net. Don’t chill in between.
Slice
A slice is a shot that makes the ball float and bounce lower than expected. It is made by brushing under the ball, creating a backspin. They are great for controlled returns and slowing down fast rallies.
You’ll see it used most often on:
- Returns that stay low and skid
- Dinks that die in the Kitchen
- Resets that neutralize power
The trick is to angle your paddle slightly downward and let your wrist guide the motion. You’re not swinging hard; you’re gliding.
Backspin
Directly related to the previous one, a backspin is the type of spin that makes the ball rotate backward. It makes the ball stay low after bouncing and can throw off your opponent’s timing.
You create backspin by:
- Opening your paddle face
- Cutting beneath the ball
- Using a controlled, soft shot
Tip: If you don’t know how to do a backspin, you’ll always be playing in power mode, which is exhausting. Remember, in pickleball, strategy is more important than power.
Bert
The Bert is the flashier, nastier uncle of the Erne. It happens when you swing over your partner, usually diagonally, bound outside the Kitchen, and dump a volley, without foot faulting.
The trick to doing it right:
- Communication: Your partner needs to know that you’re trying it.
- Timing: You’re basically stealing the ball from the air.
- Footwork: Like an Erne, you have to jump and land outside the NVZ.
Paddle
This is the essential tool you’ll wield on the court! Unlike tennis or badminton rackets with strings, in pickleball, you use a paddle. These are solid, typically made from materials like composite, graphite, or sometimes wood, and are designed for precision and control.
Ready Position
It is the default posture you take while waiting for the ball. You should bend your knees, have your feet shoulder-width apart, and hold the paddle up in front of your chest.
Golden Pickle
This is a rare and impressive feat! A Golden Pickle happens when a team wins a game with a perfect score of 11-0.
Technical Foul
This happens when a player breaks a technical rule, such as unsportsmanlike behavior. A technical foul can make you lose a point or receive a penalty without even touching the ball.
Champion Shot
Although not an official term, ‘champion shot’ basically means a winning shot after the ball bounces twice in the Non-Volley Zone.
Drop Spin
It’s a variation of the drop shot that also includes a spin, usually a backspin, so the ball dies faster once it lands. Here’s how to do it:
- Use a soft, brushing motion on the ball.
- Keep your paddle open.
- Aim for just over the net, let gravity and spin do the rest.
This shot works best when you catch your opponent off guard, especially if they’re standing too far back.
Baseline
It is the back boundary line of the court. When you serve, you must hit the ball behind the baseline without stepping on it. Of course, shots that land past this line are out.
More Pickleball Words
- 10-Second Rule (serve)
- “In” (ball landing)
- Benefit of the doubt (line calling principle)
- Below the waist (serve rule)
- Broken/Cracked/Degraded/Soft Ball
- Butt cap (paddle)
- Calling the Score
- Carry
- Centerline
- Change of Ends
- Continuous Play
- Cooperation
- Courtesy
- Court
- Crossing the plane of the net (fault)
- Distraction
- Double Hit
- Doubles
- Draws and Seeding
- Drop Serve
- Edge guard (paddle)
- Ejection
- Electronic Equipment (prohibition)
- End selection
- Expulsion
- Fair play
- Fault (if you want to re-emphasize its general meaning from the rulebook perspective)
- Forfeit
- Game Point
- Grip (paddle)
- Hinder
- Injury During Rally
- Items on the Court
- Left/Odd Court
- Line Call
- Line Judge
- Live Ball
- Match Point
- Mini-singles
- Missed Shot
- Non-sanctioned Tournament
- Officiating team
- Paddle head (position during serve rule)
- Paddle Possession
- Paddle sport
- Partner
- Perforated ball (Pickleball)
- Permanent Object
- Pickleball
- Plane of the Net
- Player Equipment Problem
- Players
- Playing Surface
- Point
- Provisional Rally Scoring Option
- Receiver
- Referee
- Replay
- Retirement (from a match)
- Right/Even Court
- Sanctioned Tournament
- Scoring
- Serve (Service)
- Service Court
- Service Motion
- Serving Area
- Shots Around the Net Post (ATP)
- Side-out scoring
- Singles
- Starting Server
- Switching Hands (paddle)
- Technical Warning
- Time-Out (Standard, Medical, Equipment)
- Tournament Director
- Tournament Formats
- Two-Handed Shots
- Upward arc (serve technique)
- Verbal Warning
- Volley Serve
- Wheelchair Player
- Winning the Game
- Withdrawal (from a tournament)
- Banger
- Falafel
- Flapjack
- Shake & Bake
- Slammers
- Stacking
- Pickled
- Pickler
- Resetting the Point
- Speed-Up
- Roll Volley
- Topspin Volley
- Hand Battles
- Split Step
- Soft Game Control
- Attackable Ball Recognition
- Transition Zone Play
- Drift Poach
