Beginner's guide
Pickleball glossary: terms and slang
Pickleball has its own language for shots, court positions, scoring and equipment. A dink is a soft shot into the kitchen; a volley is hit before the bounce. This alphabetical glossary explains the terms you hear at a session, separates slang from rules, and includes DUPR's NR label for players without a rating.
Reviewed by the NPL Professional Pathways team · Updated
A
- Ace
- A legal serve that the receiver cannot return, winning the rally for the server.
- ATP (around the post)
- A legal return around the outside of the net post; it may pass below net height.
B
- Backhand
- A stroke played on the opposite side to your usual forehand.
- Banger
- Slang for a player who favours hard drives over softer shots.
- Baseline
- The back boundary at each end; a server starts behind this line.
C
- Centreline
- The line dividing the right and left service courts behind the kitchen.
- Crosscourt
- Diagonally across the net towards the opposite side, as with a serve.
D
- Dead ball
- A ball no longer in play after a rally ends or play stops.
- Dink
- A soft shot from near the kitchen into the opponent's non-volley zone.
- Doubles
- A playing format with a pair of partners sharing each side of the court.
- Drive
- A firm attacking shot, rather than a soft dink or drop.
- Drop shot (third-shot drop)
- A soft shot into the kitchen; the third-shot version follows the serve and return.
- DUPR
- Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating, a player rating based on match results.
E
- Edge guard
- The protective border around the face of some, but not all, paddles.
- Erne
- A volley from outside the sideline beside the kitchen, still subject to kitchen and net rules.
F
- Falafel
- Informal slang for a weak or mishit shot with little pace.
- Fault
- A rule infringement that ends the rally, such as hitting out or volleying illegally.
- Forehand
- A stroke on your paddle-hand side, with the palm generally facing forwards.
G
- Golden pickle
- Slang for winning a game without conceding a point or giving up the serve.
- Grip
- How you hold the paddle, or the material covering its handle.
- Groundstroke
- A shot after a bounce; unlike a volley, it may be played from the kitchen.
H
No entries.
I
- Indoor ball
- A perforated pickleball marketed for indoor conditions; check the venue's chosen model.
J
No entries.
K
- Kitchen (non-volley zone)
- The 7 ft (2.13 m) area each side of the net; no volleying while touching it.
- Kitchen line
- The kitchen boundary; touching it while volleying or serving onto it is a fault.
L
- Let
- A replay term borrowed from tennis; legal net-clipping pickleball serves are played on.
- Lob
- A high, arcing shot intended to send opponents back towards their baseline.
M
No entries.
N
- Nasty Nelson
- Slang for a serve deliberately aimed at the receiver's partner to hit them and win the rally.
- NR (Not Rated)
- DUPR's label for a player with no rating yet, not a zero rating.
O
- Outdoor ball
- A perforated pickleball marketed for outdoor conditions; use the venue's specified approved ball.
P
- Paddle
- Pickleball's solid-faced hitting implement, without the strings found on a tennis racquet.
- Paddle core
- The material and structure inside a paddle, affecting its feel on contact.
- Paddle face
- The hitting surface that contacts the ball, sometimes described by texture or material.
- Pickleball (ball)
- The perforated plastic ball used in pickleball, unlike tennis and padel's felt-covered balls.
- Poach
- To cross over and intercept a shot that would otherwise go to your partner.
Q
No entries.
R
- Rally
- Shots from serve to dead ball; winning a rally does not always earn a point.
- Rally scoring
- The rally winner earns a point regardless of who served; check the competition's format.
- Reset
- A soft, controlled return taking pace off an attack to neutralise the rally.
S
- Serve
- The rally's opening shot, directed diagonally beyond the kitchen into the correct service court.
- Side out
- Transfer of serve to the opponents after the serving side exhausts its available servers.
- Side-out scoring
- Only the serving side scores; a receiving win changes the serving sequence instead.
- Sideline
- A side boundary between baselines; a ball touching it is in unless another rule applies.
- Singles
- A player on each side, using the same regulation court dimensions as doubles.
- Skinny singles
- Singles practice on part of the court; agree on crosscourt or down-the-line boundaries.
- Stacking
- Doubles positioning to keep preferred sides, without changing correct-server, receiver or service-court requirements.
T
- Transition zone
- The tactical space between baseline and kitchen line, not a separately marked rulebook zone.
- Two-bounce rule
- The serve and return must each bounce before either side can volley.
U
No entries.
V
- Volley
- A shot before the bounce; kitchen contact and momentum restrictions apply.
W
No entries.
X
No entries.
Y
No entries.
Z
No entries.
Rules, tactics and slang are different
Kitchen, fault and the two-bounce rule affect legal play. Stacking, poaching and resets describe tactics. Banger, falafel and golden pickle are informal expressions, not official rules or awards.
Find a court and keep learning
Use Where to Play to find a local venue, then check its booking information. The Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane city guides connect the basics to places you can actually play. Confirm the session format and equipment arrangements with the venue before booking.
For your first game, read the pickleball rules and scoring guide. If a session asks for a rating, DUPR ratings explained covers that separately. Planning a facility rather than a session? Build a Court is the place to discuss the site, surface and surrounds without assuming that a painted rectangle is the whole project.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Rule definitions follow the official rulebook. Informal shot names and slang describe common courtside usage, not official rules.