Pay & Play Pickleball - FAQS

Yes, pickleball paddles and balls are available for hire. To collect your equipment, please visit reception before your booking. You’ll need to present a valid photo ID, which will be securely held at reception while you play.

No. We are a public facility, and anyone can book a court.

Yes. You just need to set up an online Account - its free, quick and easy.

No. All our sports venues and cafés are now ‘cashless’.

Standard advanced booking rights for tennis, padel and pickleball courts are 7 days. New courts are released every day at 7.00am.

You should call your local venue to ask, no more than one or two hours prior to the start of your booking.

Our standard T&C's state that those customers who book a court or pitch but don't turn up at the venue, or who fail to cancel a booking with more than 24 hours notice, will not be eligible for a credit or refund. Please refer to our Cancellations and Refund Policy for more details.

A court booking is deemed to have been played if more than 15 minutes has passed since the start time and no credit or refund will be offered. You can opt to continue to play at your own risk.

If the court is unplayable, or your session lasts for less than 15 minutes, we will issue you with a credit for your entire booking.

If the warning is for 'extreme' weather such as heavy snow, strong winds or abnormally high temperatures - at our senior management's sole discretion - we may decide to cancel your booking or choose to remain open to the public. We will try to inform you in good time before your booking starts.

Absolutely anyone. Pickleball is a great game for all ages – it is based more on control and reactions rather than just power and as it’s on a smaller court, doubles doesn’t require as much movement as other sports. [Pickleball England]

Like tennis or padel, for pickleball you can play in whatever you feel most happy in – think t-shirts, shorts, tracksuit bottoms, sweatshirts and a comfortable pair of trainers.

No. A pickleball is a round plastic ball which weighs roughly half the weight of a tennis ball and has between 26 and 40 holes across its surface. Pickleballs are available to hire or purchase at our Chiswick venue.

Serve

• Each point starts with an under-hand serve, from behind the back line which must be hit diagonally to the opposite square.
• The serve must clear the non-volley zone (including the non-volley line).
• A server gets 1 service attempt.
• If the server wins the point, they continue to serve and alternate sides.
• In doubles, both players get to serve regardless of whether they win their first point on serve.
• When the service is lost, then both players in the opposing pair get to be the server.

Play

• ‘Double Bounce Rule’ - Each team must play their first return shot off the bounce. It is only after the third short that the ball can either be volleyed or played off the bounce.
• Volleys - Players are only allowed to volley when their feet are behind the non-volley zone line. The point is lost if the volleyer’s momentum carries the player into the non-volley zone after volleying.

Scoring

• Pickleball is scored as a first to 11 points, with two clear points needed to win.
• A point can only be won by the serving team.

Each court booking is for a maximum of four players per court.

For your own personal safety, if at any time you feel uncomfortable or unhappy, trust your instincts and share your concerns. Each of our sporting venues operates according to the ‘Safeguarding, Diversity and Inclusion’ policies as set out by the Governing Bodies for each of the sports played.

More information on our Welfare Officer and Safeguarding policies can be found here.