Pickleball Skill Levels

Pickleball Beginner - 2.5 Skills

Know the rules of the game, including two-bounce rule, scoring, positioning, and transition to kitchen
Able to hit a forehand but does not yet have direction or depth control
Able to hit a backhand but does not yet have direction or depth control
Accurately places service into the proper diagonal box but does not have depth, spin or pace control
Able to sustain a dink rally with players of equal ability
Able to volley with some control and direction
Understands proper court positioning
Able to accurately keep score throughout the game
Has necessary mobility to assure safe and balanced movement
Able to hit a return of serve but does not have depth, or placement control

Able to hit a medium -to-fast paced forehand with direction, depth, and consistency
Able to hit a medium-to-fast paced backhand with direction, depth, and consistency
Able to hit a medium paced serve with depth, direction, and consistency
Able to consistently sustain a dink rally with forehands and backhands
Able to hit a 3rd shot drop with direction and consistency
Able to hit a medium paced volley with direction and consistency
Able to hit a medium paced return of serve with adequate depth, control, and consistency
Understands the fundamental strategies of playing points throughout the game
Understands proper court positioning
Understands the rules and can keep score

Able to use a forehand with a moderate to high level of placement, depth, spin, pace, and control.
Able to use a backhand with a moderate to high level of placement, depth, spin, pace, and control
Consistently gets serve in with depth and control and beginning spin
Consistently gets return of serve in with depth, control, and beginning spin
Able to dink with forehands and backhands in the kitchen with consistency, placement, and spin for lengthy rallies
Able to control the ball height and depth during dink rallies
Able to hit a 3rd shot drop with control, direction, and proper height over the net with a medium to high level of success
Able to volley with depth, pace, placement and control
Able to reset balls back into the opponent’s kitchen during transition from the baseline to the kitchen
Moves quickly and properly to the kitchen, through the transition zone, after the return of serves
Understands proper court positions and strategies
Understands the difference between the hard (banging) and soft games and knows how and when to use them
Understands the concept of stacking and how to use it and defend against it

Consistently hits forehand with depth, control, pace, and spin during competition
Consistently hits backhand with depth, control, pace, and spin during competition
Consistently gets serves in with depth, placement, control, and spin during competition
Consistently gets return of serve in with depth, placement, control, and spin during competition
Consistent and dependable overheads with directional control, depth, and placement during competition
Able to execute a dink or air dink lob from the kitchen with a moderate level of consistency
Able to sustain a forehand/backhand dink rally with height control, direction, spin and pace during competition
Able to recognize balls that are attachable and those that are not in a dink rally
Consistently executes during completion a 3rd shot sequence that demonstrates placement, height control, and consistency,
Transitions properly from the baseline to the kitchen with a consistent capacity to reset 5th, 7th, and 9th shots
Able to change hard shots to soft shots and soft shots to hard shots
Able to volley with direction, control, placement.
Able to volley with direction, control, placement.