Pickleball is a paddle sport played on a small court with a plastic ball. Two people (singles) or four (doubles) hit the ball back and forth over a low net. It borrows the court from badminton, the scoring from ping-pong, and the strokes from tennis — and it is by far the fastest-growing racquet sport in the world.
Get to the net. The team that reaches the kitchen line first almost always wins the point. After serving or returning, walk forward. Stop just before the kitchen line. From there, "dink" — a soft shot that bounces just over the net — until someone puts up a ball you can attack. That is the whole game at the beginner-to-intermediate level.
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A short, practical guide to your first pickleball game — the court, the gear, the serve, the score, and the one strategy that matters.