Pickleball glossary A-Z

New to the courts and hearing words you do not know? Here are the most common pickleball terms, each explained in a sentence or two. Rules terms follow the concepts of the USA Pickleball rulebook in our own words.

73 terms

A

Ace

A serve that the receiver cannot touch or return.

Approved equipment

Paddles and balls listed by USA Pickleball as legal for sanctioned play.

ATP

Around the post; a shot that travels outside the net post instead of over the net and lands in. See ATP.

B

Backhand

A stroke hit on the non-dominant side of the body, with the back of the hand facing the net.

Bad bounce

An unpredictable bounce, often from a crack in the court or a damaged ball.

Banger

A player who hits most balls hard. See beating bangers.

Baseline

The back line of the court, 22 feet from the net.

Block

A soft, firm-paddle volley that absorbs pace from a hard shot.

Body bag

Slang for hitting an opponent with the ball; the opponent loses the rally.

Bounce it

A call telling your partner to let a ball bounce because it may land out.

C

Centerline

The line dividing the two service courts on each side, from the kitchen line to the baseline.

Chicken wing

An awkward high backhand volley near the shoulder; also a target area on the body.

Continental grip

A neutral grip, like shaking hands with the paddle, used for most shots.

Cross-court

A shot hit diagonally to the opposite side of the court.

D

Dead ball

A ball no longer in play after a fault or the end of a rally.

Dink

A soft shot from near the kitchen that lands in the opponent's kitchen. See the dink.

Double bounce

When the ball bounces twice on one side before being hit; a fault.

Doubles

Pickleball with two players per team.

Drive

A hard, low groundstroke. See the drive.

Drop serve

A serve where the ball is dropped and allowed to bounce before being hit. See drop serve.

Drop shot

A soft shot from deep in the court that lands in the opponent's kitchen.

DUPR

Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating, a results-based rating on a 2.000 to 8.000 scale. See ratings.

E

Erne

A volley hit from outside the sideline next to the kitchen. See the erne.

F

Fault

A rule violation that ends the rally. See faults.

Fifth shot

The serving team's next shot after the third shot, often a drop or reset.

First server

In doubles, the player who serves first in a team's service turn.

Foot fault

A serving fault where the server steps on or over the baseline or outside the allowed area.

Forehand

A stroke hit on the dominant side of the body.

Freeze

A rally-scoring rule where a team near game point can only win the final point on its serve.

H

Hands battle

A fast exchange of volleys at the net; also called a firefight.

K

Kitchen

Common name for the non-volley zone, the 7-foot area on each side of the net. See kitchen rules.

Kitchen line

The line marking the edge of the kitchen; it is part of the kitchen.

L

Let

A serve that touches the net and lands in; in current rules, play continues.

Line call

Calling a ball in or out. See line calls.

Lob

A high shot over the net players' heads. See the lob.

M

Mixed doubles

Doubles with one man and one woman per team.

Momentum rule

You may not be carried into the kitchen by the momentum of a volley.

N

Nasty Nelson

Slang for a serve that deliberately hits the receiver's partner, who is at the net; it wins the point for the server.

No man's land

Another name for the transition zone.

Non-volley zone

The official name for the kitchen.

O

Open play

Drop-in recreational sessions with rotating players.

Overhead

A hard downward shot hit above the head. See the overhead.

P

Paddle

The solid racket used to hit the ball.

Paddle stack

A queue system in open play where players line up paddles to get onto the next court.

Pickled

Losing a game 11-0.

Poach

Crossing into your partner's area to hit a ball.

Put away

A shot that ends the rally.

R

Rally

The continuous play from serve until a fault.

Rally scoring

A scoring system where a point is scored every rally. See rally scoring.

Ready position

A balanced stance with knees bent and paddle up in front.

Reset

A soft shot that neutralizes an attack by landing in the kitchen. See the reset.

Return of serve

The second shot of the rally, hit by the receiver after the serve bounces.

S

Second server

In doubles, the partner who serves after the first server loses a rally.

Service court

The area diagonally opposite where a serve must land.

Shake and bake

A doubles pattern where one partner drives the third shot and the other crashes the net to volley.

Sideline

The lines marking the long sides of the court.

Side out

When the serve passes to the other team.

Side-out scoring

Traditional scoring where only the serving team can score. See side-out scoring.

Singles

Pickleball with one player per side. See singles.

Skinny singles

Half-court singles used for practice.

Speed-up

A sudden fast shot during a dink rally.

Split step

A small hop landing balanced, timed as the opponent hits.

Stacking

Partner positioning that keeps players on preferred sides. See stacking.

Sweet spot

The area of the paddle face that gives the best response.

T

Thermoformed

A paddle construction where the face and edges are heat-molded.

Third-shot drop

A soft third shot that lands in the opponent's kitchen. See third-shot drop.

Topspin

Forward spin that makes the ball dip.

Transition zone

The area between baseline and kitchen. See transition zone.

Two-bounce rule

The return and the third shot must each bounce before being hit. See two-bounce rule.

U

Unforced error

A mistake not caused by opponent pressure.

V

Volley

Hitting the ball before it bounces. See the volley.

Volley serve

A serve hit out of the air with an underhand motion.

Z

Z-shot

Slang for an extremely sharp angled shot, so named for its path.