Doubles Pickleball is the most popular form of the game. Unfortunately, we can’t always find four players for a game of doubles. And during this pandemic period, many jurisdictions (like British Columbia) primarily only allow singles play.
If you are an avid Pickleballer and love your doubles game, the idea of playing singles might not be appealing. Maybe you’ve tried it as a full-court singles game (like singles tennis). Full-court singles Pickelball is an entirely different game from doubles Pickleball. And it is exhausting.
Skinny Singles is the answer …
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“Skinny Singles” might be the answer if you’re seeking Pickleball, but can’t play doubles for one reason or another. It is very similar to doubles Pickleball in many respects, and is not as exhausting as full-court singles.
And it is fun!
There are many resources that explain “Skinny Singles”. Here are just a few:
The general concept is that you play only on half of the court. But sometimes you play diagonally, and sometimes you play directly across from your opponent.
Centre Line
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This leads to the first difference from doubles pickleball:
In order to play half the court, the centre line extends all the way to the net. Some players chalk-out an extension to the center line — but many (if not most) players just assume there is an imaginary line extended to the net and make judgement calls if it is close. (Obviously if you are getting competitive about your singles play you’ll want to chalk-out the extension).
Half Court Play
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For the most part you play by the same rules as doubles Pickleball, but
your opponent must always land the ball in your half of the court, and you must always land the ball in your opponents half of the court.
Each player’s half of the court is determined by whether they have an EVEN or an ODD number of points.
If you both have an EVEN number of points (like when you start the game and you both have zero points), each player’s half of the court is the right-hand side of the court — and they are playing diagonally. The server must land the serve in the service zone diagonally opposite to their court, and play occurs diagonally cross-court.
Now suppose that one of the players (the player on the bottom in this diagram) has an ODD number of points and the other player has an EVEN number of points. In that case the player with an ODD number of points (on the bottom) plays in their left-hand side of the court, and the other player plays in their right-hand side. This would happen if the score was 1-0 (for the player on the bottom) for instance. Or 3-0 or 5-2, etc.
The server must land the serve in the service directly opposite opposite their half of the court, and play occurs directly opposite each player.
You’ve probably gotten the gist of the system by now. But here’s an example of when both players have an ODD number of points (eg. 1-1, 3-3, 3-1, 7-5, etc.). Each player’s half of the court is their left-hand half of the court.
Now might be a good time to point out that although the ball must land in the side of the court corresponding to a players ODD/EVEN score, the player is not restricted from standing in the other half of their court. Of course they must observe the rules about not hitting a volley while standing in the kitchen — but other than that a player can stand anywhere they are allowed in doubles pickleball.
And finally (it should be obvious by now) if the top player in this diagram has an ODD number of points and the other player has an EVEN number of points, the play is in the half court directly across from each other like this
Only One Server Per Side
The last thing to remember about “Skinny Singles” is that there is only one server per side. So there is no concept of a first or second server as there is in doubles Pickleball.
Conclusion
That’s about all there is to “Skinny Singles”. It is a bit more challenging than doubles play because you have to land the ball in just a half of your opponent’s court. That’s actually a good characteristic of the game — because it will improve the accuracy of your shots. And finally, it should be noted that “Skinny Singles” is somewhat more tiring than doubles. That is because you don’t have a partner to field half the shots hit into your court. It’s all up to you.
Enjoy!
