Women’s Pickleball Guide For Beginners

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You are never too early or late to take up pickleball. Want some tips to help you get started? These are based on my own experience as I document my journey learning how to play pickleball.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you will learn in this women’s pickleball beginner’s guide:

By the end of this guide, you are ready to strap on a cap, buy a couple of pickleball paddles and balls, call some friends along, and get rollin’. You may even wish to find beginner lessons near you to start with.

What Is A Beginner In Pickleball?

You may have played pickleball or any sport before and heard of terms like beginners, advanced beginners, novice, etc.

With so many different versions and levels of expertise, let’s synchronize our definition of beginner.

Here’s what I consider a beginner in pickleball:

1. You’ve never tried it and you are clueless but interested in learning how to play
2. You don’t have the gear but played leisurely using your friend’s equipment at some point
3. You have the gear and getting started
4. You have already started and getting the hang of serving, lobbing, and the rules
5. You’ve never competed in a pickleball tournament before
6. Using the skill ratings rubric, you stand between the levels 0 to 2.0
7. An expert pickler who’s continuously learning new things…wait what?

No kidding, when you are obsessed and mastering every bit of pickleball, the last thing you want is to feel that there’s nothing else to learn anymore.

Whether you are a true beginner or an expert, you’d want to dill with pickleball with a beginner’s mindset.

This will help you to enjoy every game, and every training and become a better version of yourself.

Basics Of Pickleball: Getting Started

Pickleball is a racket sport where two opposing individuals or two pairs of players use paddles to hit a wiffle ball over a net on a rectangular court.

I’d say it’s a three-way hybrid between tennis badminton and ping pong or table tennis. It is closely related to some characteristics of each of these three mainstream sports.

For one, the size of the pickleball court is the same as a badminton court, but it’s way smaller than the one for tennis.

As an amateur tennis player, I find that the smaller court helps me pick up pickleball way easier than tennis. It makes pickleball more fun too!

That said, the rules and scoring system can take a lot of work to learn and follow. So I’ve simplified them with a printable guide for you to easily digest them and learn to play the game in the shortest time possible.

Here’s a lightweight version for you to view here on the web.

When I first started, I was overwhelmed with the numbers in the score. The serving rules were also overloaded with dos and don’ts, where to place your feet and how high the paddle should go.

If you are wondering what they all mean, there’s no need to learn all the rules in one go when you are just starting. This simplified version is good enough for you to play a decent game in the first few sessions.

If you want a printable version (PDF with pictures), leave your email here to get it in your inbox.

Once you are getting the hang of the game and when it’s time for you to level up the rules, you can download the summary and full USA Pickleball Official Rulebook from the USA Pickleball website.

Equipment Essentials

It’s exciting getting your first Pickleball set and on top of wearing shoes, the necessary items in a set should give you at least 2 paddles and 2 to 4 pickleballs, that’s it.

You can upgrade and expand further as you progress.

At the very least, I’d recommend getting the paddle and ball that have been USA Pickleball Approved. It has a logo like this:

This means they have been inspected by USA Pickleball (the national governing body for pickleball), and cleared to be used in official tournaments.

Even if you are not entering any tournaments anytime soon, having at least one approved set allows you to get used to playing with them.

You don’t wish to change after getting comfortable as it takes effort and time to adapt to a new set of gear.

Also, some players may only play with you if your paddle is USA-approved!

Meantime, here are the essential gear and accessories I recommend to a woman beginner player:

Choosing Your First Pickleball Paddle

Do you love geeking out on things like brands and how different materials affect your game? While most of us women are not bothered about this, we just want something durable, to enjoy the process and feel great from a solid workout.

Also, as a beginner, you don’t have to get all fancy. At this point, I don’t expect you to know what type of paddle you like. You probably haven’t touched one yet.

So here are the paddles I recommend to all ladies, young or old who are just starting to play. This list is not based on any scientific discovery or in-depth test.

These are my true, honest opinions of paddles that come from brands and companies you should buy from, rather than get sold by the marketing fluff.

This is in order of my preference. But any of these can get you up and running right away:

If you are into the construction details, you will find at least 60 different brands and more than 284 types of pickleball paddles, made up of one of the 8 core materials:

1. Kevlar
2. Carbon fiber
3. Polymer honeycomb, and
4. Nomex

You can also choose from variations of paddle face materials:

1. Fiberglass
2. Raw carbon fiber
3. Carbon fiber
4. Graphite

Other varied characteristics available:

1. Paddle thickness
2. Grip thickness
3. Shape
4. Overall weight
5. Swing weight, and
6. Twist weight

You can even go as far as to make a personalized pickleball paddle. Yes, you can go one step further to style up or customize your paddle aesthetics with stickers or laser engraving your name, taglines, and more.

As you see yourself playing more regularly and even considering competing in tournaments, you may also start to see yourself buying more paddles.

Are you overwhelmed with the technicalities already or ready for more? Read on to find out what shoes and accessories to top it off.

Choosing Your First Footwear

I’m sure you’d want to step into the pickleball court on the “right” foot on your first try. Although I wore Crocs in my first game, I strongly recommend you wear proper footwear at all playing times.

The ideal pair of shoes to wear should be made for the surface of the playing court. The last thing you want is to fall at a weird angle to twist any part of your body.

Ankle support is necessary, and so is sufficient space to allow your toes to wriggle and not cramp up together causing blue toe syndrome.

I have a long list of shoes for beginners, but here are the top 3 favorite ones that are best for first-timers:

Women with wide feet or big bunions:
Babolat Women’s SFX3 All Court Tennis Shoes

Women with flat feet:
New Balance Women’s FuelCell 996 V5 Hard Court Tennis Shoe

Women with generic feet type:
HEAD Sprint Team 3.5 Shoe

If you already have a pair of court shoes for tennis, badminton, or volleyball, you can use them for pickleball.

Otherwise, I do recommend that you invest in a pair of affordable pickleball shoes. Don’t wear flip-flops, or running shoes, or go barefoot in games and drills.

Accessories for Every Beginner

The next gear to get you comfortable playing pickleball would be a pair of tube socks that stay put without running down your leg while you are on the move.

I won’t say you can’t play without them, but socks are helpful in that they can prevent abrasions and blisters on your ankles.

These are generally the common accessories you may wish to add or bring along with you:

1. socks
2. protective eyewear
3. sunscreen
4. overgrip tape
5. water bottle
6. gloves

These are not a must-have, but they serve a great purpose to help you enjoy the game more.

With more games and experience, you will see yourself expanding your pickleball bag with more paddles and accessories in no time.

Finding the Right Place to Play

You may consider playing at your own backyard or against the wall at home. If you are looking to play with some friends, you will have to find a court big enough for your party.

In this case, you’ll have to decide if you prefer playing indoors or outdoors. Then, look for the nearest courts accessible to you.

Indoor vs. Outdoor Courts

You can play recreational pickleball almost anywhere, indoors and outdoors, so long the floor surface allows the ball to bounce. On colder, windier days, I will look for indoor courts and even play against the wall at home.

Most times, my reasons for choosing indoor or outdoor courts are due to weather and availability.

At this point, you may not know the pros and cons of playing indoor vs outdoor and that doesn’t matter now.

As you progress in your standard, you will realize that how you play and your performances indoors can vary quite a bit indoors vs outdoors.

One reason is due to the different balls used. Indoor balls are lighter with fewer holes that are bigger compared to those used outdoors.

But there are no hard and fast rules on the choice of balls. You can use anyone indoors and outdoors, based on personal preference.

The other reason is due to the different court surfaces and how it’s constructed.

When playing outdoors, you may go for tennis courts or dedicated pickleball courts made of asphalt, concrete, grass, or clay.

As for indoors, you may play on badminton or basketball courts, or those with rubber, gym-like flooring.

Your pace of footwork and how high a ball can bounce depends on the floor material. These lead to how you play, and hence how much you enjoy the game.

If you are a new player, you can get a portable net and play in your backyard. If you live in the city area, find any empty space or book a local court to get started.

When I first started, I tried playing indoors and outdoors. With practice, my footwork and intuition got better, now playing the game relies more on muscle memory. You can do the same too.

How to Find Local Pickleball Courts Near You

I love that more city parks are partnering with local entities and pickleball associations to build public courts, allowing anyone to jump in and play.

There are various mobile apps and websites you can use to search for pickleball courts near you. Out of all of them, I recommend the Places2Play app for this.

Download the app on your iPhone or Android phone, or use the web app:

• Places2Play On Apple
• Places2Play On Google Play
• Places2Play Web App

Whether you are in Colorado Springs, Naples, or someplace out of the United States, this app can show information about that place.

This means you can find a local pickleball court even while traveling.

Most of them are free and you don’t have to reserve a time to book courts. Since you are just starting out, there’s no need to commit to paying yearly club memberships. If you are in Miami City, the free courts in Miami Parks work just fine.

Here are some of the free public parks you can go to in Miami:

Bryan Park

Address: 2301 SW 13th Street | 305-533-3501

Opened Days: Open full days during park hours on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturdays.

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Douglas Park

Address: 2795 SW 37th Ave | 305-461-6805

Opened Days: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays

Play Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 5:00PM to 7:00PM

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Kirk Munroe Park

Address: 3101 Florida Ave | 305-533-3537

Open full days during park hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

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Gerry Curtis Park

Address: 1901 NW 24th Ave | 305-634-4961

Courts are open during park hours, first come, first serve.

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Jose Marti Park

Address: 434 SW 3rd Ave |  305-960-2945

Mondays – Fridays 10:00AM to 2:00PM and Saturdays and Sundays: 12:00PM to 5:00PM

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Charlie DeLucca Park

Address: 455 NW 47 Ave |  305-533-3520

Courts are open during park hours, first come, first serve.

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For more information on parks in Miami City, refer to the City of Miami website.

If all the courts are in use, all groups will take turns to play by using the rotation waiting system.

That said if you prefer to pay to reserve a court for a fixed period, you can do that in various locations.

The reservation costs and systems will depend on the club or entity managing the courts. You will have to plan your budget for that if you intend to get serious.

What Exactly Is Skill Rating In Pickleball and How To Get Those Numbers?

When I first started, I heard players talk about things like being at 2.5 trying to go to 5.0, etc. What are these numbers and what do they mean?

These numbers are created by USA Pickleball known as skill ratings. Using them is a quantifiable way to measure a player’s skill level.

It was used only in the past when players competed in tournaments. But now, you can acquire the ratings in 3 ways:

1. Participate in competitions
2. Get assessed by a rating team
3. Assess yourself

Refer to USA Pickleball Player Skill Ratings rubric to learn the definitions of the different levels and download the skill assessment form for your use.

Final Thoughts: Your Pickleball Journey Awaits

How do you know if you are ready for the pickleball court? To anyone questioning this, I’d say you will never be ready, so just step on the gas and start playing.

Questions? Comments? Leave them below!