Pickleball is initially designed to be played on the same size as a doubles badminton court. This means a regulation-size area of play for pickleball is 20 feet by 40 feet.
The whole court including the surrounding area and not just the play area is usually 34 feet by 64 feet. However, you can make it as small as 30 feet by 60 feet.
The play area is usually set up around the net, which is 22 feet long and 36 inches tall, 34 inches in the center. From each side of the net is a 7-foot long no volley zone, and then a 15-foot play zone, making the total length 44 feet.
The 15-foot play zone is split into 2 15’x10’ zones for the right and left service areas.
Due to the history of pickleball (which we will go over in this article), it is designed to be played essentially anywhere and with non-regulation equipment. Wherever you are, you can set up a pickleball court and play a few rallies.
Pickleball is rapidly gaining in popularity with more and more people looking into how they can start playing this incredible game. In this article, we cover why the court is the size (Check out How Much Space Is Needed Around A Pickleball Court?) that it is, the basic rules of pickleball, and how you can go about setting up your own pickleball court.
The History Of Pickleball
Pickleball is a relatively new sport, having been created in Washington in 1965.
The sport itself was created by 3 dads who, after coming back from a game of golf, saw that their children were bored and wanted to entertain them with a fun game of badminton. However, they couldn’t find the shuttlecock and so began to experiment.
They took equipment from other sports that they had lying around like a Wiffle ball and table tennis paddles. They also lowered the badminton net to the ground due to the heavier balls.
The official first game of pickleball was meant to be badminton, which is why they are played on the same court.
Since the game was created from many different aspects of other sports, it is the perfect game to be played in an unconventional manner. This means you can also improvise based on the size and equipment you have available to you.
Rules Of Pickleball
The aim of a pickleball is to be the first to reach 11 points with a lead of at least 2 points.
First, you need to decide who will be serving, this is typically done through a coin flip. The person who serves is the only team that is able to score points during that rally.
One of the ways that pickleball is unique is the use of a two-bounce rule. This means that when the server hits the ball, it must bounce before being returned.
The hit done by the receiver must also bounce once before being returned by the server. Once the ball has bounced once on each side, normal play can start and you are allowed to volley the ball.
This is done to make the game fairer and remove the serve-volley advantage that is in other racket sports.
Once a point has been scored or a fault has happened, the service is changed to the other team and they now have an opportunity to score a point.
Another way that pickleball is unique is the use of a no volley zone, also commonly called the kitchen. As the name suggests, you are not allowed to volley the ball in the no volley zone. Even if you hit it out of the zone if your momentum carries you into it that still counts as a fault.
How To Setup A Temporary Court
While pickleball is becoming more popular, there still isn’t a lot of regulation pickleball courts. This is changing with more and more being created, but it may be a while until you have one locally. Due to this, it is common for people to set up their own pickleball courts.
They are quite easy to set up and you can do so in essentially any court. As long as the surface is hard and flat it can be used as a pickleball court.
Common choices include basketball courts, inline hockey rinks, tennis courts, and badminton courts. The courts can be indoor or outdoor as long as it is on a hard surface and not sand or grass.
One benefit of setting it up on an established court is that they may already be facing in the right direction. You want your court to be facing the north and south, this way you won’t end up with the sun directly in a player’s eyes.
The first step to setting up a pickleball court is getting a net. You can do this by either lowing a tennis or badminton net, or bringing your own portable pickleball net.
From the net, you should be able to mark out the no volley zone with a tape measure, then a further 15 feet from the no volley zone at each end for the rest of the court.
You can use a variety of items to create these markings, from chalk, tape, or even paint. Make sure you talk to the facilities manager first before marking out the area.
The item you use to mark out your court will depend on how temporary you want it. You also want to ensure that there is a form of barrier around the court so that the balls can’t go very far.
Finally, you just need your rackets and ball. The rackets are typically made out of plastic or wood and the ball is made from a hard polymer and has holes in it. This hard polymer means that the ball doesn’t bounce as much as rubber balls like the ones used in tennis.
Final Thoughts
Over the last decade, pickleball has been rapidly gaining in popularity across the US with it even being named the official state sport of Washington in 2022.
It is an incredibly fun sport that is perfect for people of all ages and is a great beginner racket sport. Compared to other sports, pickleball is much easier to pick up and is not so taxing on the body while still being a good workout.
While the standard pickleball court size is 20’x44’, you could theoretically use any size space you may have available. Of course, a larger size would be better, but the whole history of pickleball is that you make the best out of what you have.
So even if you only have your driveway to use, get out your chalk, table tennis rackets, and Wiffle ball to enjoy a sporting game of pickleball.
Pickleball has been played for decades, and it is a great way to let off some steam, engage in friendly competition, and improve your fitness levels.
Hi, my name is Joe Polls and my family and I are keen pickleball players. My parents actually met on a pickleball court, and the rest is history.
I have always loved pickleball, no matter how many times I hear that it’s not a real sport. It has helped me get through some challenging times in my life - whether that be a breakup, finals, or even bereavement. The reason I made my website is so that I can teach more people about the wonders of pickleball, and maybe even get them interested in playing.
Pickleball could always use more players, so what are you waiting for?
Please, enjoy my website and I hope it teaches you something of use. Who knows, maybe I’ll catch you out on the court one day!
