Pickleball Glossary and Tools

Quick tools

Glossary

A

Ace

A serve the receiver cannot return, winning the point outright.

Around the post (ATP)

A shot hit around the outside of the net post instead of over the net. It is legal as long as it lands in the court.

B

Banger

A player who hits hard, fast drives on almost every shot instead of playing soft.

Baseline

The back boundary line of the court. Players serve from behind it.

Bert

Like an erne, but the player jumps or moves around the kitchen on their partner's side of the court to volley.

C

Centerline

The line that divides each side's playing area into a right and a left service court.

D

Dink

A soft shot hit from near the kitchen line that drops into the opponents' kitchen. Dinks are hard to attack because they stay low.

Drive

A hard, low, flat shot aimed deep into the opponents' court or at their feet.

Drop serve

A serve where the ball is dropped from the hand, bounces, and is then hit. It is an easy, legal option for beginners.

DUPR

Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating, a widely used rating system that rates players based on match results.

E

Erne

An advanced volley where a player jumps over the corner of the kitchen, or runs around it outside the sideline, to hit the ball near the net without breaking the kitchen rule.

F

Fault

Any rule break that ends the rally, such as hitting the ball out, into the net, or volleying from the kitchen.

Foot fault

Stepping on or over the baseline while serving, or touching the kitchen while volleying.

K

Kitchen

The common name for the non volley zone: the 7 foot area on each side of the net where players may not volley. Learn more in our Beginner's Guide.

L

Let

A rally that is replayed, for example when a ball from another court rolls onto yours. Serves that clip the net and land in are no longer replayed.

Lob

A high, soft shot hit over the opponents' heads, usually when they are at the kitchen line.

N

Nasty Nelson

A serve that hits the receiver's partner before it bounces. Because a player was struck by the ball, the serving team wins the point.

Non volley zone (NVZ)

The official name for the kitchen.

P

Pickled

Losing a game without scoring a single point.

Poach

When a player crosses over to their partner's side to hit a ball, usually a volley at the net.

R

Rally

The exchange of shots from the serve until a fault ends the point.

Reset

A soft shot, often from the middle of the court, that takes the pace off a hard ball and lands it in the kitchen so you can get back into the point.

S

Side out

When the serving team loses the serve and it passes to the other team.

Smash

A hard overhead shot hit downward, usually from a high ball or a short lob.

Stacking

A doubles tactic where partners arrange their positions so each player stays on their preferred side of the court, while still following the serving order.

T

Third shot drop

A soft shot hit by the serving team on the third shot of the rally, aimed to land in the opponents' kitchen. It gives the serving team time to move up to the net.

Transition zone

The area between the baseline and the kitchen line. It is hard to defend from, so players try to move through it quickly.

Two bounce rule

The rule that the serve and the return must each bounce once before either team may volley. See our Beginner's Guide.

V

Volley

Hitting the ball out of the air before it bounces. Volleys are not allowed while standing in the kitchen.