Simply put, the kitchen is the non-volley zone of the pickleball court that extends seven feet from both sides of the net and from sideline to sideline.

THE RULES OF THE KITCHEN

Now that you know where the kitchen is, it’s important to know the rules. This is one of the unique aspects of pickleball that is different from other racquet sports.

• The first thing to remember about the kitchen is that you cannot stand in it or make contact with the kitchen line while volleying the ball. If any part of your body is making contact with these areas, your opponent receives a point. This rule discourages from standing at the net for the duration of the game.

• Remember, this rule only applies to making contact with the ground. Can you hit the ball out of the air while standing behind the line? Yes, but you run a risk of faulting due to another kitchen rule.

• If a player drops anything in the kitchen that they are wearing or carrying, their opponent will receive a point. This ranges from your paddle to sunglasses to hats. Even if your wallet or keys fall out of your pocket, it’s still a fault.

• Finally, be aware that your momentum cannot carry you into the kitchen. Even if you successfully volley the ball to your opponent, you must stay out of the kitchen to avoid a fault. You can even fault on dead balls.

But what if the ball bounces in the kitchen on a short dink? You can still enter the kitchen to play it. The rules above are only for volleys or shots hit out of the air. Remember to not just stand in the kitchen, as your opponent could take advantage of this with a volley. You can stay in the kitchen as long as needed, but it is crucial to get out of there quickly. Both feet must be in contact with the playing surface outside of the kitchen before hitting a volley.

If you are playing a doubles match, your partner can be in the kitchen while you volley, just as long as they don’t touch you.

The rules of the kitchen can be confusing to new pickleball players. But once you get a feel for the kitchen, you’ll be ready to start cooking with some gas during your next pickleball match.

The origin of Pickleball is rather unique and includes a full-blown debate as to the beginnings of its name. It was originally created by a group of friends, over fifty years ago, who wanted to play Badminton, but did not have all of the proper equipment. So they improvised with the equipment they had and ended up creating a sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis and ping pong.

It is played on a Badminton size court, but with a lower net similar to tennis. You hit a whiffle-type ball over the net with paddles that look like oversized ping pong paddles. With the rapid wear down of the ping pong paddles, one of the men decided to make his own paddles from wood in his basement.

Pickleball? Why on earth would anyone name a serious sport Pickleball? This is the most hotly debated issue in Pickleball. There are two plausible stories as to its genesis. One side says it is named after one of the founder’s dogs, Pickles. He kept running off with the ball in between plays, so everyone called it Pickles’ ball. The other side of the story is that it borrows the term from oarsmen. A ‘pickle boat’ in oaring is the boat manned by members from competing teams who are substitutes or leftovers. So pickle is a salute to Pickleball’s eclectic conglomeration of other sports’ leftovers.