The Ten Commandments of Pickleball: Commandments 6-10

Gather ‘round, gather ‘round, for the Pickleball Prophet has transcribed the holy words of the all-powerful pickleball gods and is set to recite them once more. This is the third installment of pickleball’s best guide for unwritten rules, perhaps-needed advice, and evange-pickleball indoctrination. Come forth to see if you have sinned!

6. Thou Must Maintain Composure Even In The Presence Of Net Contact

This commandment speaks on, and almost directly restates, a fundamental rule to the game of pickleball: as long as the ball goes over or around the net (and over the kitchen on a serve), the ball is live. But not only is the player required to make a play on a netted-but-crossed ball, it is expected of the player to do so with relative efficacy and consistency. Sure, in other racket-and-net sports like tennis and table tennis, a ball that hits the net is either dead (if the netted ball is off the serve) or regarded as a fluke and discounted as an error. But net-and-over balls are more common in pickleball than in other sports, so even by the time one has reached a 3.5 DUPR they’ve seen and practiced against their fair share of off-the-net shots. The nets are also much higher than on a table tennis table, and you stand just as close, making returning netted balls a much easier task. On a tennis court, the ball is whizzing by much faster and heavier than on a pickleball court, and netted balls are much more infrequent–even so, in college and other high-level tennis play, off-net SERVED balls are even played. This is ultimately to prevent college kids from cheating and yelling “LET!” on any close serve, but the rule sticks because it doesn’t interfere too much with any one match’s results. And while the rule does stylistically change the sport in a screwy way whenever a net-and-over ball is hit, it is maintained because it contributes more significantly to the sport’s simplicity. It sucks that certain net-shots have to be played as fluky freebies, but it would suck a lot worse to have a bunch of college players arguing over a “let” call. This is likely the same reason net-and-over balls are played in pickleball. By saying all such balls are to be returned (unless they went in the kitchen off the serve), eliminates any disputes over said shots; the call can be made to outright implement this rule, since off-net balls are not all that difficult to return anyways, and are plenty common to see, so are regularly practiced.

The overhead, the smash, the slam, the insert-onomatopeia-of-your-choice, may go down as the player’s favorite shot in the sport. It’s certainly the most therapeutic–what with you getting to unleash your full force in one shot and all. On top of that, if you’re hitting a smash, there’s a good chance it’s a point-winning shot, or that you at least are in prime position to eventually win the point. Being in this position, and having the opportunity for this shot in front of you, I’d encourage any player to let loose. Seeing as overheads are hard to miss anyways, why deny yourself the fun of REALLY attacking a smash? The ball is light and requires plenty of force to be put away nonetheless.

7.  Thou Must Always Crank Overheads

The overhead, the smash, the slam, the insert-onomatopeia-of-your-choice, may go down as the player’s favorite shot in the sport. It’s certainly the most therapeutic–what with you getting to unleash your full force in one shot and all. On top of that, if you’re hitting a smash, there’s a good chance it’s a point-winning shot, or that you at least are in prime position to eventually win the point. Being in this position, and having the opportunity for this shot in front of you, I’d encourage any player to let loose. Seeing as overheads are hard to miss anyways, why deny yourself the fun of REALLY attacking a smash? The ball is light and requires plenty of force to be put away nonetheless.

8. Thou Shall Treat A Teammate As Family

Look - one of the worst experiences you can have as a pickleball athlete is playing a competitive match with a partner that isn’t quite up to your level. The WORST experience you can have as a pickleballer, though, is BEING that lesser skilled partner. 

For the better player of the team, yeah, it may be a little frustrating to lose a game by no fault of your own, but at least the skilled players' talents aren't being disproved in totality.. Plus, if it’s just one game - suck it up, play it out, and hope to maybe get a better teammate next time. For the worse player, not only is a lack of equal ability working against the potential enjoyment of the game, but also the knowledge that you YOURSELF are affecting the gratification of a  higher-skilled teammate. 

How can an underskilled player fully enjoy the game when constantly thinking of losing points for the team, getting the cold shoulder from your partner, and deliberating this all while actively playing? That’s where you, the higher-skilled teammate, comes in. You may feel a right to complain or stop trying–but unless you’re in a professional setting where some expectation isn’t being met, you have to adapt. 

It is a skilled players’ job to support a teammate as much as possible despite their mistakes; if they really are screwing up point after point, they are probably taking it out on themselves and not having an enjoyable time. As a teammate, partner, and sole lifeline out on the court, don’t make this worse. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean neglecting active communication with your crappy teammate. In fact, if you can help alleviate any of the pressure they feel, do so–between points, throw in a tip or two coupled with words of encouragement, but don’t coach! Add in a remark of sympathy relating to their struggle, like “I get it - it took me forever to learn to play those shots!”, or even discuss strategy. 

Pickleball is a sport in which the lesser player on a team is actively targeted by the opponent, so consider conferring with your underskilled partner about ball-hogging a bit. It would mean less returns for the partner and fewer opportunities for them to frustrate themselves (and you as their partner!). Usually, an unskilled teammate is more than eager to offload some of that pressure onto their partner. Additionally, this allows the better player more agency over their match’s outcome.

9. Thou Shall Seek Out A Taught Net

Any pickleball is better than no pickleball, but depending on the playing conditions, enjoyment of the match can vary greatly. One way to drastically decrease the fun is with a floppy or weak net. Drives and close speed-ups become more lethal with a wider margin for error, and the power of drops and dinks are reeled back. Loose nets allow the returning team to simply let the ball bounce before hitting an angle-drive, compared to a taught net where hard drives off a bounce from the kitchen are almost impossible to land.

10. Thou Shall Not Get Nasty Nelson’d

Seriously, how does this happen? If someone catches you sleeping and hits you with one of these, you might want to contemplate forfeiting the match and buying your opponent lunch.