Pickleball

1: Board member for April 2023 through March 2025.
2: Board member for April 2022 through March 2024.

Committees

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Pickleball encompasses elements of tennis, table tennis, badminton, racquetball and volleyball. The game is played on a 20-by-44 foot court with the net set at 36” at the post and 34” in the center. The lightweight plastic ball, 3 inches in diameter for outdoor play, is perforated with holes. Flat-sided paddles come in wood, composite or graphite; the paddle handle isapproximately 7” and the paddle face is 8 x 10”. The pickleball club has wooden paddles and balls available for your use during playing times.

Pickleball can be played indoors or outdoors. The official rules do not mention a court surface, which may be wood, asphalt, carpet, concrete or anything else that allows the ball to bounce. Playing attire is informal. Most players wear T-shirts and shorts. Athletic court shoes are required on the Trilogy tennis courts. Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a water bottle are strongly recommended.

Singles and doubles play is permitted, however our play will normally be doubles unless no one is waiting to play. Each player or team hits the ball over the net into the opponent's court. The opposing team returns the ball. If a player on the receiving team hits the ball out of bounds, or makes another type of fault, the serving team gets a point.

A player can only score points when serving. Both players on the serving team are allowed to serve before a side out occurs*, and points are only scored by the serving team. ( *An exception to this is on the very first serve of the game, where only one player serves prior to the side out.)

Both feet, when serving, must remain behind the baseline until after the ball is struck. The serve is made with an underhand stroke hitting the ball out of the hand without a bounce.

The receiving player must let the serve bounce and the serving player must let the return of the serve bounce before playing it. This is called the “double bounce rule.” After the two bounces have occurred, the ball can either be volleyed OR played off the bounce.

A volley is hitting the ball in the air without a bounce first. A 7-foot non-volley zone (known as the “kitchen”) is marked on both sides of the net. Players cannot volley from within this zone, preventing players from positioning themselves right up at the net for an easy put-away since the court is small (and net is low).

A fault includes:

• failure to serve the ball into the correct (diagonal) service court
• hitting the ball out of bounds
• a ball not clearing the net
• a foot landing in the kitchen (no-volley) zone on volley shots. The line is part of the kitchen. •volleying the ball before the double bounce rule has occurred.

Doubles Play

Doubles Strategy

Pickleball involves strategies that include lobbing, dinking, overheads, slamming, passing drive shots, drop shots, hitting from the baseline, and fast volley exchanges at the net. The key strategy to remember is that the team who reaches the front court in a net volley position first will be in the best position to win the point. Remember, the serving team should stay back until the ball has bounced once (double bounce rule) on their side prior to moving forward into the net position. The player receiving the serve should play 1-2 feet behind the baseline, anticipating a deep serve. The receiving team should hit a deep return shot and move forward to the net volley position side-by-side with their partner. This is an ideal attack position. The serving team needs to stay side-by-side behind the baseline for the serve and return of serve in order to play the ball after it bounces. They should try to use a passing shot, lob shot, or drop shot to avoid their opponent and not allow them to come to the net.

Pickleball is a sport where shot placement, steadiness, patience, and tactics have a far greater importance than brute power and strength!

2-in 2-out

If all courts are in use and there are people waiting to play, we will follow the 2 in – 2 out rule. When a game is over, the losers will leave the court. If they want to continue playing later, they will add their name to the bottom of the Waiting to Play list. When new players enter to play, the winners would split unless agreed upon by all players to stay together. When this game is over, the losers would leave, as well as any players who have played two consecutive games. This system will insure that no one should have to wait too long to play, and players will be able to play multiple games during the daily playing period if they desire.

4-in 4-out

If more than 6 players are waiting to play when a game is finished, and all courts are being used, when a game ends, all four players should leave the court and add their names on the Waiting to Play list if they want to play again.

The Trilogy at Power Ranch Pickleball Club board will meet on a regular basis to determine how our system is working. As our players gain experience, we may need to designate certain courts, certain days, and/or certain times for a variety of skill levels or lessons. Our goal is to make this work in a satisfactory way for all that want to enjoy Pickleball! After trying out our sport a few times, we will encourage you to join the TPR Pickleball Club.

Come, enjoy learning, and see why Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America for those over 50! Daily court captains will be on hand to assist everyone in becoming involved. Visit the USA Pickleball website to see videos and learn more.