How Familiar Are You With Pickleball Terminology?


In every skill you learn in life, there is a terminology connected to that skill that you also need to learn.

In the field of Medicine, for example, you will need to learn what D5LR means.  Or terms like tachycardia, subcapital fracture, or necrosis, etc.

In marketing you will need to learn about split testing, sales funnels, scarcity and urgency, the stack and close, etc.

It is no different in pickleball. 

For those of you learning pickleball, the following terminology will be worth knowing:

 1.  The Kitchen - It is also known as the non-volley zone. This is the area measuring 7 feet in depth on either side of the net.  The rules state you cannot be standing in the kitchen and hit the ball out of the air.  However, if the ball bounces in the kitchen, you are then allowed to step into the kitchen to hit it.

 2. Being Pickled - This occurs when one team wins the game without the other team scoring a single point.

 3.  Stacking - A process used by a doubles team which allows each partner to remain on his/her preferred or best side of the court. The only exception is the need to alternate for serving or returning serve. 

 4.  ATP - This stands for Around The Post.  When a ball is hit at an angle that takes the returner off the side of the court, the returner may return the ball outside, around the post, without hitting the ball back over the net.

 5.  A Banger - A player who mostly tries to hit every shot as hard as possible.

 6. Erne - This shot occurs when a player hits the ball early in its flight over the net by jumping across the corner of the kitchen, landing in the out of bounds area, and hitting the ball while doing so.  It is a way to catch opponents off-guard because the ball is often hit before the opponents have a chance to get ready to receive it.

 7.  Bert - This shot is similar to an Erne, but in this shot, the player crosses the court onto his partner's side and jumps the corner of the kitchen on the partner's side while hitting the ball. 

 8.  Drop shot - A somewhat softer, arching shot that is designed to land in the opponent's kitchen area. A drop shot is often performed to help give the team more time to get up to the kitchen line. Often the shots a team makes are numbered with the serve being the 1st shot.  It is common in the terminology for the number of the shot to be combined with the type of shot being executed. So, people often talk about a 3rd shot drop or a 5th shot drop, etc.  

 9.  A Drive - A team member may choose to drive the ball rather than hit a drop shot. A drive is s a shot hit hard and hopefully, just a few inches above the net. A drive is often executed from the baseline.  And the terminology often adds the shot number, much like drop shots mentioned above. So, a player may hit a 3rd shot drive instead of a 3rd shot drop.

 10.  Foot Fault - This most often occurs when a player's foot touches the kitchen line. If the player hits the ball out of the air while any part of his foot touches the kitchen line, it is a foot fault. That results in a loss of serve or a loss of point.

 11.  The Transition Zone - This is also known as No Man's Land.  This is an area between the baseline and the kitchen line. It is a place to transition from the baseline to the kitchen line or through which to retreat from the kitchen line to the baseline. It is not an area players want to spend much time standing in, because it is very easy for opponents to hit the ball directly at their feet in this area. Balls hit at the feet are very hard to return. 

 12.  A Poach - When one partner quickly enters their partner's space to hit a ball which was intended for their partner.  This technique often catches opponents off-guard because the ball is hit quickly by a player for whom the shot was not intended. 

 13. Scorpion - A term used to describe a shot hit by a player in a squatting position with the paddle striking the ball directly above the player's head.

There are many other terms in pickleball, but that is a decent list with which to become familiar. 

You will hear these terms frequently if you are around the game much. 

So, it is good to know them or at least to have heard of them. 

Hopefully, you know these terms, but if not, now is your chance to learn them.


​Ben Holt