Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports, especially among beginners later in life. If you’re new to pickleball, there’s a learning curve to grasp the rules, basic skills, and strategy. Here’s a guide to pickleball for beginners, with tips to help you start playing this fun paddle sport.
To pick up pickleball beginner rules, check out books on pickleball aimed at newcomers to understand scoring, court layout, serving protocol, and more. The 2022-2023 Official Rule Book from the USA Pickleball Association covers everything formally. You’ll need to know the basics like pickleball beginner rules requiring the serve to be underhand and allowing only one bounce.
When learning how to serve in pickleball for beginners, focus on control over speed. Aim crosscourt diagonally to land the serve inside the service court. Guidance on grip, swing mechanics, and footwork for beginner serves can be found in pickleball books for beginners or YouTube tutorials. Don’t rush – smooth repetitions will improve technique.
In doubles, communicate constantly with your partner and call “yours!” on balls in their zone. Pickleball strategy doubles involve covering the court together and avoiding collisions. The player receiving the serve should call “I’m up!” and their partner “I’m back!” to establish positioning.
For singles pickleball strategy as a beginner, stick to basic shots like underhand serves, forehand groundstrokes, and high volleys. Avoid excessive running and overheads you can’t reach. Play conservatively until skills improve.
With practice, you’ll get the hang of how to play pickleball for beginners. Have fun, ask questions, and don’t get frustrated. Experienced players will share pickleball tips for beginners if you’re receptive. Soon you’ll start leveling up from novice to intermediate!
The information in this blog post comes from my research and experience playing pickleball and can be found in my books — HOW TO GET STARTED PLAYING PICKLEBALL and HOW TO IMPROVE FROM BEGINNER TO INTERMEDIATE IN PICKLEBALL — both available on Amazon. I hope you learn something from this post that you can take onto the courts to help you improve your game.