Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis into an incredibly fun game that takes just minutes to learn. 

Played on a small court (four pickleball courts fit onto one tennis court) with a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball, most games are played as doubles. 

Here's a quick video and a few key rules to help you get a feel for the game.

Four golden rules

1. The underhand serve 
Each rally starts with an underhand serve hit diagonally across the net into the opposite service box. You can hit the ball out of the air or drop it and hit it off the bounce - just keep both feet behind the baseline and make sure the ball clears the "Kitchen" (the zone closest to the net).

2. The two-bounce rule 
The ball must bounce once on each side before anyone is allowed to volley (hit the ball out of the air):

• The receiving team must let the serve bounce before returning it.
• The serving team must let that return bounce before hitting it back.
• Once those two bounces have happened, it’s game on - you can volley the ball out of the air or let it bounce!

3. Stay out of "the Kitchen" 
The zone closest to the net on either side is officially called the Non-Volley Zone, or affectionately, the Kitchen.

• You can't hit the ball out of the air while standing in the Kitchen or touching the Kitchen line (and your momentum can't carry you into it after a volley).
• You can step into the Kitchen at any time to hit a ball that has already bounced. Just remember to step back out afterwards.

4. Scoring 

• Only the serving team can score a point.
• Games are played to 11 points (and you must win by 2).
• In doubles, you will hear players call out three numbers before serving (e.g. "Zero - Zero - Two"). This simply tracks: your score, their score, and which server you are (1 or 2). Don't worry if the scoring sounds tricky at first - it clicks once you're on the court!

Ready to give it a go?

Don't stress about memorising all the details - our friendly club members will happily walk you through things during your first game. 

👉 Check out our session times and come along - your first session is free!