Big-time tennis athletes, like Roger Federer and Serena Williams, can draw some massive crowds to the court. But one racquet sport that's quickly becoming popular among people of all ages and abilities? Pickleball.

In fact, the sport is so popular, it has grown to about 4.8 million players in 2021 (that's a 14.8 percent growth from 2020), according to USA Pickleball. A combo of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, pickleball is a pretty inclusive sport, which is one reason it's so popular.

"It's very common to find a truly competitive pickleball game with players of varying athletic backgrounds, ages and skills," David Dutrieuille, national pickleball director at Life Time, tells LIVESTRONG.com.

Pickleball also tests your patience.You learn when to hold back and wait for the ball and when to attack, which are all skills that make you a better player, says Riley Newman, professional pickleball player and Takeya ambassador.

Below, learn basic pickleball rules, pickleball scoring and movements — plus common beginner mistakes and how to correct them.

Why Is It Called Pickleball?

Pickleball was founded in Washington state by Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum and Bill Bell. But there's some debate about how pickleball got its name.

"One camp will say that Joel called the game pickleball after the pickle boat in crew, where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of the other boats. So, it reminded them of pickleball, which is a sport that takes its components from a bunch of other sports," Newman says.

"The other camp says the game was named after Joel’s dog, Pickles, who would run after the ball. No one knows, except that it’s a funny name for the sport."

As mentioned above, this game combines elements of some more common racquet sports. Pickleball is played with two or four players on a badminton-sized court that's divided by a net at the center. Each player has a wooden paddle to hit a perforated ball back and forth.

Understanding the game starts with pickleball court dimensions. The court is 20 by 44 feet with a net at the center, which is hung 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches in the center, per USA Pickleball.

At the center of the court, there's a non-volley zone (NVZ). Also known as the kitchen, the NVZ is seven feet deep from the net.

The five basic rules of pickleball, according to Dutrieuille, are:

It's considered a fault if you volley the ball while stepping into the NVZ or if your shot causes you and/or anything you're wearing or carrying, like a paddle, to touch the NVZ. Per USA Pickleball, it's also a fault if:

When it comes to pickleball scoring, there's another set of a few standard rules, Dutrieuille says.

Before the start of the game, you must decide who serves first. There are no official ways to do it, but one option is to flip a coin. Once you determine who serves first, stick to these three rules of a pickleball serve:

While playing, it's important to call out the score before serving the pickleball, Dutrieuille says. You call out your score, followed by your opponent's score and your serve number.

"It's vital that teams call balls in and out during gameplay," Dutrieuille says. "Remember that whichever side the ball is landing on, it's that team's call on whether the ball is in or out. If a team is uncertain and does not have 100-percent certainty, then they may ask the opposing team. If a team cannot call a ball with 100-percent certainty, then the ball call will remain in."

Check out the 2022 USA Pickleball Rulebook for more information on the official rules.

Generally, the rules are the same when playing singles versus doubles pickleball. The difference is that when playing doubles, each player from the serving team moves from the left to the right side of the court if they score a point. You also alternate who's serving if the first player commits a fault.

The biggest difference? A singles game is a little more demanding. "In singles, the athletic prowess of an individual is significantly highlighted," Dutrieuille says. "A player's shot selection, shot angles and court positioning are rather different."

Doubles games are also a bit more strategic than singles games, as it takes longer to score a point. "Points are much longer due to another player being by your side," he says. "Doubles is more like chess. You are looking to find various combinations that in return, create a set of circumstances that allow you to win."

According to Dutrieuille, the five fundamental pickleball movements are:

Groundstrokes can be further classified as either forehand or backhand. Both are important for beginner play.

"There are other important movements, such as dinking (low shot in the NVZ), lobbing (adding some height to your shot in the air), blocking and resetting the ball, however, these other movements are not essential to play pickleball right away," he says.

Now that you've learned how to do a pickleball forehand and backhand, Dutrieuille breaks down how to serve a pickleball, return a serve and do a third shot drop.

Don't forget that when you serve the ball, it comes back to you. In other words, don't stop to admire your shot — the team will hit it back before you know it, Dutrieuille says.

Although pickleball and tennis share similarities, they are different sports. Many beginners try to play pickleball like tennis, allowing the ball to come to them at the baseline. But a pickleball doesn't bounce as high or as fast as a tennis ball, Dutrieuille says.

To help you become comfortable with volleying the ball, Dutrieuille suggests standing in the NVZ with a friend on the other side of the net. Take the pickleball and hit it softly back and forth. This can help you build your coordination and reflexes, he says. This drill can also help you gradually move closer to the net, which is where most shots are won.

In pickleball, you want to play on the balls of your feet instead of planting your entire foot on the ground. This allows you to shuffle from side to side, moving more quickly.

Planting your feet is more helpful if you're in a defensive scenario, Dutrieuille says. For example, if you hit a ball too high, you need to step back quickly to give yourself more time.

To avoid planting your feet, practice shuffling from one side of the court to the other on the balls of your feet, he says. Or stand in the middle of the court with a friend and have them point left or right and shuffle in the direction that they move.

Rather than standing stick straight, you want to maintain an athletic stance with your knees slightly bent while playing pickleball.

"Assuming you don't have bad knees — or some other limiting factor — close your eyes and bend your knees [to get a feel for an athletic stance]," Dutrieuille says.

"Focus on what it feels like when feeling your hamstring, glutes and quads be engaged in an athletic position. When you get acquainted with this feeling, open your eyes, and then remain in that position the whole time when playing pickleball."

Another common mistake Newman sees is starting with a big follow-through or extended finish on your shots.

"In pickleball, you want to focus on short backswings with making contact with the ball out in front and no extended finish with your stroke," he says. "By doing this, it will help keep your shots unattackable for your opponents and minimize fewer pop-ups for your opponents. The shorter your stoke mechanic is, the better you will do on the pickleball court."