Reference · Glossary
Pickleball terms: a glossary with rule numbers
Court words, shot names, scoring terms and doubles tactics in one place, each tied to the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook where the rulebook covers it.
Pickleball has two vocabularies: terms defined in the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, and the shot and tactic names used on court. Rule numbers refer to the 2026 rulebook (definitions are in Section 2). Terms tagged Player term are not in the rulebook and are defined from Wikipedia's pickleball glossary; the rule numbers beside them show which rules govern the shot or tactic. The official text always wins.
Even "kitchen" is a player term: the rulebook says non-volley zone, which USA Pickleball's rules summary notes "is commonly referred to as 'the kitchen.'"
- Kitchen (non-volley zone), 7 ft deep.
- Kitchen line, part of the zone.
- Transition zone (pale band).
- Dink, kitchen to kitchen.
- Third-shot drop into the opponents' kitchen.
- Erne, from outside the sideline.
- Around the post (ATP), outside the net post.
- Stacking: one partner moves across once the ball is in play.
- Poaching: crossing to take the partner's ball.
- Serving area, behind the baseline.
Court terms
| Term | Meaning | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Non-volley zone (NVZ) | The 7 × 20 ft area on each side of the net where volleying is not allowed. All volleys must start outside it. | Sec. 2, 3.A.4.c, 11.A |
| Kitchen Player term | The non-volley zone. | — |
| Baseline | The line parallel to the net at each end of the court. | 3.A.4.a |
| Centerline | Runs down the middle of each end, from the NVZ line to the baseline. | 3.A.4.d |
| Service court | The area on either side of the centerline, excluding the NVZ. | Sec. 2, 3.A.4.f |
| Serving area | The area behind the baseline at each end. | 3.A.4.g |
| Playing surface | The court plus the surrounding area designated for play; it is what makes an Erne possible. | Sec. 2 |
| Transition zone Player term | "No man's land": roughly midway between the NVZ line and baseline, a vulnerable place to stand. | — |
Shot terms
| Term | Meaning | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Volley | Striking the ball before it bounces. The act of volleying ends when the follow-through stops. | Sec. 2, 11.A |
| Groundstroke Player term | A ball struck after it has bounced. | — |
| Dink Player term | A soft shot after the bounce, from at or near the NVZ, that just clears the net and lands in the opponents' NVZ. Not a volley, so it may be hit from inside the kitchen. | 11.A |
| Drop shot Player term | A soft shot from the backcourt or midcourt landing in or near the opponents' NVZ; before the bounce, a drop volley. | — |
| Third-shot drop Player term | The serving team's soft third shot into the opponents' NVZ, hard to attack, buying time to move up. It is hit off the bounce, since the return must bounce. | 10.A.2 |
| Third-shot drive Player term | A hard, low third shot that forces a block. | 10.A.2 |
| Erne Player term | A volley near the net by a player outside the court or leaping outside it, named for Erne Perry. It must start outside the NVZ, with both feet out after any touch of the zone; no touching the opponents' court while the ball is live; crossing the net plane only right after the hit. | 11.A, 11.A.3, 13.H, 13.I.1 |
| Around the post (ATP) Player term | A legal shot outside the net post, above or below net height. Between net and post is a fault. | 13.C, 13.D.1 |
The kitchen rules page works through the Erne and around-the-post shot with an illustrated scenario diagram.
Serving and scoring terms
| Term | Meaning | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Serve | The first strike of a rally, to the diagonally opposite service court, clearing the NVZ, with or without touching the net. | Sec. 2, 7.E |
| Volley serve / drop serve | A serve hit before the released ball bounces, or after it is dropped and bounces. | Sec. 2 |
| Let Player term | A serve that touches the net and lands in the correct court. Under USA Pickleball rules it is simply a good serve. | 7.E |
| Two-bounce rule | The serve and the return must each bounce before being hit. Also called the double bounce rule, but the rulebook's "double bounce" is a ball bouncing twice before a return. | Sec. 1, 10.A.1, 10.A.2 |
| Rally | Continuous play from the serve until the ball is dead. | Sec. 2 |
| Side out | The serve passes to the opponents after the server or serving team loses its serve. | Sec. 2, 5.A.3 |
| Starting, first and second server | Starting server: serves first in a game. First server: starts the team's rotation from the right after a side out. Second server: the partner. | Sec. 2, 5.B |
| Score call | Doubles: serving score, receiving score, server number, starting at "zero – zero – two." Singles: two numbers. | 6.B.1, 6.B.2 |
More detail: serve rules and scoring explained.
Doubles tactics: stacking and poaching
| Term | Meaning | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Stacking Player term | Partners line up on the same side before a serve or return so each can quickly reach a preferred side of the court. | 5.B.1, 5.B.3, 5.B.4, 5.C |
| Poaching Player term | Crossing over to take a shot that would normally be the partner's. If both partners hit the ball, it is a fault. | 5.B.4, 10.D.2 |
The rulebook never names stacking; the rules behind it are:
- Serve and receive from the score-based side. The correct server and receiver must serve and receive (5.B.1). The starting server's side is the right at an even score, the left at an odd score; the partner takes the other (5.B.3).
- Move once the ball is in play. "Except while serving and receiving, there is no restriction on the position of the players" (5.B.4).
- Ask when unsure who the correct server or receiver is, before the serve (5.C).
- Know the claim rules. Any player may stop a rally to claim a wrong server, receiver or position: correct claim, replay; incorrect claim, fault on the claimant (5.C.1.a, 5.C.1.b). Returning a serve meant for your partner is a fault (5.C.1.c). Errors found after the rally stand (5.C.2).
Faults, replays and calls
| Term | Meaning | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Fault | A rules violation that ends and loses the rally. Receiving-team fault: point to the servers. Serving-team fault: loss of serve. | Sec. 2, 9.B |
| Hinder | A transient occurrence not caused by a player that adversely affects play. Any player may call it; the rally is replayed. | Sec. 2, 9.C.1, 9.C.2 |
| Momentum | What keeps a player moving after contacting the ball. Volleying momentum into the NVZ is a fault. | Sec. 2, 11.A.2 |
| Carry | Hitting the ball so it rides on the paddle instead of bouncing away. A fault. | Sec. 2, 12.C.1 |
| Double hit | Hitting the ball twice before it is returned; legal only in one continuous, single-direction stroke. | Sec. 2, 10.D, 10.D.1 |
| Ball hits player | After the serve, a fault on the player hit, unless it touches the paddle or the paddle hand below the wrist. | 10.C.3 |
Players may call NVZ faults and service foot faults only on an opponent (9.B.3). See the rules summary for the full fault list.
Slang you will hear
| Term | Meaning | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Pickled Player term | Losing 11-0. A "golden pickle" is an 11-0 loss without ever getting to serve. | — |
| Nasty Nelson Player term | A serve that hits the receiver's partner, named for Timothy Nelson: a fault on the receiver, so the servers win the rally. | 7.E.5 |
| Chainsaw serve Player term | A spin serve popularized by Zane Navratil that USA Pickleball no longer allows: no spin added at release; spin from the paddle at contact is fine. | 7.B.2 |
New to the game? The how-to-play walkthrough uses many of these terms in one game.
Sources
- USA Pickleball — 2026 Official Rulebook (Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- USA Pickleball — Rules summary (rev. 1/1/2025)
- Wikipedia — Glossary of pickleball
- Wikipedia — Pickleball (dinks, stacking, two-bounce rule)
Sources checked October 2026. Rules, fees and schedules change — confirm with the venue or governing body.