Okay, so you’ve made the best decision of your life and want to try pickleball.
Stepping onto the court for the first time can be intimidating, especially with lingo like erne and kitchen being thrown around.
Fret not, here’s the cheat sheet you need before your first open play.
kitchen
Put down your aprons and put on your pkl gear. The kitchen is like the plague and must be avoided at all costs UNLESS the ball bounces in the kitchen first, then it’s all yours.
The kitchen is all the space between the net and front line, sometimes it can be painted a different color if you’re boujee like that.
If you whip out an erne for your first open play, kudos! An erne is considered an elite move for good reason. The player (hopefully you after reading this blog), jumps over the far right or left corner of the kitchen and hits the ball overhand hard, ALL while staying out of the kitchen.
The erne is always a crowd pleaser, so take this power and use it for good.
atp
ATP= “Around the Post.”
You know that deep shot to the far side of a court that seems impossible to get over the net? It’s possible with a tasteful ATP sprinkled into your pickle skill set. The goal here is to get the ball, well around the post, and into the far back court of your opponent.
Here’s a link to a beautiful ATP for inspo from the well known player, Tyson McGuffin.
pkl
Your favorite pickleball clothing brand to rep on the court. That’s all.
baseline
The back line you serve from. Your trusty spot for defense. Some players are seen kissing the baseline as a pregame ritual, but that’s optional.
stacking
Stacking is getting more common for not only lefty teams, but any team trying to get an extra edge. One player will stack on their best side to keep forehands and strong playing points on their ideal side.
centerline
The perfect spot to hit in the middle of both players in doubles (especially effective playing a lefty and righty team).
dink
Day dinkin. Dinkin 'all day. Dink city.
A dink is a short shot that’s at a sharp angle in the kitchen. You may see people dinking and think “that looks easy as pie.” Think again.
drop shot
Different from a dink, the drop shot is hit from back deep on the court and positioned just over the net, dropping it into the kitchen so the opposing team can’t hit it out of the air. The 3rd shot drop is a player fav if you can be consistent.backhand
The bane of some people’s existence, and other people’s greatest strength. A shot hit when the ball goes to the side opposite of your paddle arm, which is *typically* not as natural to hit with. The double backhand has taken over open-plays across the nation, give it a try!
ace
When a serve hits the court, and not a single paddle. This move generally is followed by shouts of joy and humbleness.
Go and tear it up on the court! In the meantime, check out the best places to play pickleball in San Diego.