Pickleball - WheelPower

Hall of Fame Inductee - Sir Ludwig Guttmann

Sir Ludwig Guttmann KBE, MD, FRCP, FRCS

Wheelchair Pickleball

What is Pickleball?

Pickleball is a fun sport for ALL ages and abilities that combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis. Played both indoor or outdoor on a badminton-sized courts, two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a hollow perforated polymer ball over a net. Even though pickleball is a bit like tennis, there are important differences that make pickleball especially more accessible for those who play:

A pickleball ball travels at about a third of the average speed of a tennis ball.

The court is somewhat less than a third of the total area of a tennis court (same measurements as a badminton doubles court)

The net is similar to a tennis net, but a little lower.

Playing Pickleball isn’t nearly as hard as it might look! In fact, Pickleball has a very short learning curve and can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities.

Rules of the Game

Basic Rules

Key rule differences for wheelchair pickleball players:

The Rules (pickleballengland.org/rules/)

The ball is served underhand from the right side of the court and is played diagonally across to the other service court. The defending side has to let the ball bounce first before it can be returned and, subsequently, the serving side also has to let the ball bounce. It is only on the third ball that the ball can be returned immediately. Either you can play a volley or you can let the ball bounce first.
Points can only be scored by the serving side. You win a point if the defending side does not manage to return the ball, hits the ball out, does not let the serve ball bounce, volleys in the non-volley zone, or is hit by the ball. The game ends when one of the parties gets 11 points, with a 2-point lead.
When a side scores a point, the same person serves, but from the other side of the court. When a player loses a point, his or her partner serves from the side of the court where he or she is standing at the moment. If this service also fails to score, service goes to the opponent and the opponent begins the service on the right. For the first service, however, the service changes sides after only one serve.
When playing singles, the player serves from the left if he or she has an uneven number of points, and from the right with an even number of points. This is how scoring is kept: 1-0-1 means that the serving side has 1 point, the other side has no points, and this is the first server.

Find a Club

Pickleball England are a Not-for-Profit organisation set up to promote and encourage in every way at local, national and international level the sport of pickleball and to act as the sole governing or delegating body for the sport in England. There are hundreds of clubs across the country. Please use the club locator to find your nearest club:

Find a Club