Pickleball Terms and Slang You Need To Know

In pickleball, there is no shortage of strange terms, sayings, and definitions. After all, what other sport has a shot called an Erne or a dink?

As you get started in pickleball, or even after you've played for some time, you're bound to come across a slang term that makes you say, "Huh?"

Don’t worry - this guide will help you stay ahead of the lingo and explain the most common pickleball terms you should know for your time out on the court.

Common Pickleball Terms

Area of the court: A section of the court designated for a specific purpose, such as the kitchen or the service court areas that are designated by court lines.
Backcourt: The area behind the baseline.
Ball: The neon-colored, lightweight plastic balls with holes cut through them that is used to play pickleball. Pickleball balls come in indoor and outdoor versions and have a different number of holes.
Baseline: The farthest line from the net that represents inbounds. Serves must happen from behind this line.
Centerline: The centerline is the line that divides the odd and even parts of the court and runs from the NVZ to the baseline.
Dead ball: A ball no longer in play.
Double Bounce Rule (or Two Bounce Rule): Both teams (serving and receiving) must allow the ball to bounce before hitting it. This includes the serve and the return of serve. Because of this rule, some interesting strategies come into play!
Double hit: A double hit (when the paddle hits the ball twice) can be legal on the pickleball court provided it is in one continuous motion, performed unintentionally, a stroke in a single direction, and only hit by one player.
Doubles: A doubles match is when two players face off against another two players. Doubles matches utilize the entire pickleball court and have their own rules.
Foot fault: When a player steps over a line they cannot cross while performing an action.
Grip: How you hold the pickleball paddle. In most cases, you want a fairly light grip. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being a death grip, try holding your paddle between a three and a four.
No man’s land: This area is also called the transition zone, or the midcourt, and is the area between the kitchen line and the baseline.
Non-volley line: This line marks the beginning of the NVZ. Most pickleball matches end with all players standing right at this line.
Non-volley zone (NVZ): The part of the court closest to the net. It's usually marked off with a seven-foot rectangle. It's often called the kitchen area, and players are not allowed to hit balls out of the air (volley) if any part of their body (or their belongings) is touching the ground of this area.
Paddle: It's the instrument used to strike the ball in pickleball. It is bigger than a ping-pong paddle and smaller than a tennis racquet. They come in multiple shapes, sizes, materials, and colors–pickleball paddles are used to hit the ball.
Rally: Each point is considered a rally. It’s continuous play from the time the ball is served until a fault or point occurs.
Rule violation: When a player performs an action during play that is against the official rules.
Sideline: The lines on the side of the court represent out-of-bounds.
Side out: When the serving team loses the point and the other team is awarded the ability to serve.
Singles: One versus one, just like in other racquet sports.

Pickleball equipment including a net, balls, and paddles

Common Pickleball Shots

Ace: When you serve, and your opponent doesn't return the serve (or misses it completely), that's an ace.
Approach shot: When a player moving towards the net hits a shot.
Backhand: A shot using a backhand motion. The palm of your dominant hand and the face of the paddle is aimed at your body in this shot and moves away from you as the ball is hit toward the net.
Backspin: This is when you hit the bottom of the ball or just underneath the ball, causing a rotation that comes back toward you. These shots often have a higher arc, and when they bounce in front of your opponent, they can bounce away from them.
Backswing: Moving your paddle behind your body to hit the ball forward.
Chop: This is a ball hit with backspin or a slice shot, performed with a sharp, cutting-type motion.
Cross-court shot: A cross-court shot just means that the ball travels from either the left side of the court to the right side or the right side to the left side. It goes across the court diagonally.
Dink shot (or drop shot): Spending your night drinking leaves you with a hangover. Spending the night dinking will probably win you some pickleball matches. A dink (or drop) shot is a soft shot that lands in or close to the NVZ.
Drive: Not to be confused with cruising down the street. A drive shot is a fast-paced shot hit with force and is often a forehand shot.
First serve: This refers to the first server while serving the ball.
Forehand: A swing where the face of the paddle is facing the ball and starts parallel to the net.
Groundstroke: A ball hit after bouncing on the pickleball court surface.
Half-volley: A shot that is hit immediately after the ball bounces but before it reaches the apex of its bounce.
Lob: A lob is a high-arcing shot that is usually aimed over your opponent's head between the NVZ and the baseline.
Overhead Shot: When you lift your paddle over your head to hit the ball–typically swinging it downward–that's an overhead smash or slam.
Put away: A put-away shot is an indefensible shot. You don't give your opponent a chance to hit it back over the net.
Return of serve: The second hit of every rally is the return of serve.
Serve: An underhand shot that starts every pickleball rally. In pickleball, a serve must be hit from below waist level. There are some other rules and strategies to know for legal pickleball serves.
The Erne: The Erne (pronounced ern-ie) is a shot named after Erne Perry, who used this shot repeatedly during the 2010 USAPA National Pickleball Tournament. The shot is explained in detail here, but essentially, it's performed at the NVZ line and close to one of the sidelines. It involves the player jumping over the corner of the kitchen and slamming the ball for a putaway into their opponent.
Third shot: As the name says, this is the third shot after the serve and return of serve. It's considered one of the most (if not the most) important shots of every rally.
Third shot drop: The third shot drop is the third shot in a pickleball rally.
Topspin: Topspin is the opposite of backspin. In this shot, you hit the top of the ball and drive it down toward your opponent's feet at a quickened pace.
Volley shot: A shot hit from the air without the ball bouncing first.

Pickleball player hitting a two-handed backhand

Terms for Players

A 4.0 pickleball player: In pickleball, there is a ranking scale that uses numbers from one to 5.5+. A new player begins as a 1.0 to 2.0. As you progress, you can move up to higher numbers. Players ranked at 5.0 and higher are considered pros.
Banger: A player who repeatedly hits hard drives and overhead slams at their opponents - the same as a slammer.
Opposing team: The opposing players in a doubles match who are playing on the opposing side of the net.
Poach or poachers: A poach is when someone jumps in front of their partner to hit the ball that was on their partner’s side of the court. Someone who poaches is called a poacher. Interestingly, poaching is a form of strategy that allows the player who has the forehand (or a better shot) to take it.
Receiving team: The players who are awaiting the serving team to serve the ball.
Slammers: A slammer (or banger) is someone who likes to drive the ball a lot or hit it hard more often.

A pickleball banger hitting an overhead smash

Funny Pickleball Terms

Falafel: Not just a delicious chickpea dish, but a name given to a shot that should've been hit with more power.
Flapjack: A shot that must bounce once before being hit.
Kitchen: A colloquial term for the non-volley zone.
Pickled: If a team scores no points by the end of a match, they've been pickled.
Pickler: Someone obsessed with pickleball–maybe you?
Volley Llama: An illegal move where a player hits a shot into the kitchen.

Conclusion

Pickleball terminology is always evolving, and new terms are being created all the time. What have you heard or learned on the pickleball courts recently? Drop us a comment below!