Pickleball glossary
The terms and slang you hear on the court, defined in plain English. If you are new, start with therules guideand come back here when someone yells "Erne."
- ATP (around the post)
- A shot hit around the outside of the net post, below net height, that lands in bounds. Legal and spectacular.
- Banger
- A player who drives almost every ball hard instead of playing the soft game. Beatable with patience and resets.
- Bert
- An Erne where you cross in front of your partner to poach the volley near the net. Named after the Erne, backwards.
- Dink
- A soft shot from near the kitchen that arcs just over the net and lands in the opponent kitchen, too low to attack.
- Dillball
- Player slang for a ball that is dead or out of play. Also the name of this app.
- Erne
- An aggressive shot where a player jumps around the outside of the kitchen to volley near the net without a fault.
- Falafel
- A shot hit with so little power it barely travels, usually off the middle of the paddle.
- Golden pickle
- Winning a game 11-0 while serving the entire game, so the other team never serves.
- Kitchen
- The non-volley zone, the 7-foot area on each side of the net where you cannot volley.
- Lob
- A high, deep shot hit over the opponents to push them off the kitchen line.
- Pickle
- Sometimes called out before a serve to warn that play is starting.
- Poach
- When a player crosses over to take a shot that would normally be their partner, usually at the net.
- Reset
- Taking pace off a hard ball and dropping it softly into the kitchen to neutralize an attack.
- Side out
- When the serving team loses its serve and the other team takes over serving.
- Stacking
- A positioning tactic where partners line up on the same side to keep their preferred forehands in the middle.
- Third shot drop
- A soft shot by the serving team on the third shot of the rally that lands in the kitchen and lets them move up to the net.
- Two-bounce rule
- The rule that the serve and the return must each bounce before anyone can volley.
- Volley
- Hitting the ball out of the air before it bounces. Not allowed from the kitchen.