This is Pickleball

My wife and I are learning to play pickleball.  Recently introduced to the game by my in-laws, we watch instructional videos and play once or twice-a-week, gimpy knees and all.

For several years, I’d heard of the game.  I was put off by the name.  Pickleball just sounded too silly.  I was put off by the characterization of pickleball as tennis for old people.  In fact, there are a lot of old people playing the game.

A pickleball court is 1/4^th the size of a tennis court, so there’s less court to cover. The game is usually played with a partner, which further cuts down on the running.  The game is played with an oversized ping-pong paddle and a wiffleball.  Compared to tennis, when hitting the ball there is less torque on the arm, which means less chance for injury.  Still, playing pickleball is a surprisingly good workout.

The scoring is a little confusing at first.  Each game is played to eleven points.  You only get a point if you’re serving.  With each point you serve you must call out three numbers; your score, your opponent’s score AND a server’s number, either one or two.  If you want to check your mental status, you can also call out the date and day.

The net is at the same height as tennis.  The baseline is 22 feet from the net.  There is also a line 7 feet from the net.  Anything inside of that line is called the kitchen, and with a few notable and confusing exceptions, even if you can stand the heat, you must stay out of the kitchen when hitting the ball.

The serve must land in the opposite opponent’s half of the court, beyond the kitchen line.  The ball must bounce before being returned.  Unlike tennis, the ball must bounce again on the return of the return.  Only then can the ball be hit from the air.  Beginner’s strategy is simple, play it forward.  Get yourself and your partner up to the kitchen line after the third hit, and then try your best to keep hitting the ball over the net.

There is a group of mostly elderly pickleball players, men and women, that meet Monday through Friday, 7:30am at the local pickleball courts.  My wife and I warn them we are beginners, and we are nevertheless welcomed.  We rotate teams, different partners each game.  Even the very skilled players have been kind and patient with us.

During one game, my wife apologized for a missed hit.  She was informed, “This is pickleball, no need to apologize.”  Between games, my wife and I sat on the sidelines, watching two notably better players warming up.  They invited us to play.  Being newcomers to the sport, we declined.  One of them looked at us and said, “You’re missing the point. This is pickleball.  You're supposed to be social.  Get out here and have some fun.”

And we did.