Essential Pickleball Terminology

• Kitchen (Non-Volley Zone): The 7-foot area on both sides of the net where you cannot hit the ball in the air.
• Dink: A soft shot that lands in the opponent’s kitchen, forcing them to hit upward.
• Third-Shot Drop: A soft shot designed to land in the kitchen, allowing the serving team to move forward.
• ATP (Around The Post): A shot that lands in bounds after travelling outside the net post.
• Erne: A shot hit while standing outside the kitchen, or just before jumping over the side of the kitchen, to intercept a volley.
• Bert: Similar to an Erne - is an advanced, aggressive poaching manoeuvre where a player jumps over or runs around the kitchen (non-volley zone) on their partner’s side of the court to hit a volley.
• Banger or Slammer: A tough, aggressive player who hits the ball hard and fast, avoiding finesse.
• Double-Bounce Rule: The ball must bounce once on the serve and once on the return before volleys are allowed.
• Stacking: A doubles strategy where partners position themselves on the same side of the court to keep their preferred forehand/backhand sides.
• Pickled: A team that loses a game with zero points.
• Golden Pickle: The equivalent of the perfect game in pickleball. It occurs when the first team serving wins a game using its first serve only. Not only do the opposition not score a point, they don’t even get to serve!
• Paddle Tap: Tapping your paddles or butt of your paddle handles is a traditional way to say – “Good Game”, to you opponents and partner at the end of the game.
• Falafel: A shot with no power, often caused by a "dead paddle".
• Volley Llama: An illegal move where a player volleys while in the kitchen. 
• Divorce Alley: The tricky gap between two doubles partners where opponents love to aim shots.. 
• Nutmeg or 5-hole: When a player hits the ball through the opponent’s legs, a tricky and often surprising shot.
• Poach: In doubles pickleball, to cross over into your partner’s side of the court to hit a shot.
• Put Away: A shot with no chance of being returned.
• Pop-Up:  A ball that is hit with too much height, making it hang in the air and allowing the opponent to easily attack it with a smash or a high-volleyball.
• Body bag or Tag: Hitting an opponent with the ball.
• Resetting (or Reset): To stop a hard/fast rally and bring it back into the kitchen for dinking.
• Painting the Line: An expression for hitting a great line shot that lands right on the line
• Nasty Nelson: A legal, albeit often considered controversial, strategy where the server intentionally hits their serve at the opposing player positioned at the net (the non-receiver) before the ball bounces. If successful, it results in an immediate point for the serving team.