I am new to pickleball. How do I get started?

We are excited to hear you are interested in getting started with Pickleball! With over 74,000 Life Time members in our pickleball community, we are confident you will fall in love with the nation’s fastest growing sport! To get started, we recommend an Intro to Pickleball class, which is offered at many of our Life Time locations and complimentary with your membership. This class is designed to help you learn the basics of how to play pickleball, focus on scoring, rules and all the intricacies of playing the game.

The next step is getting involved in beginner Open Play pickleball. Open Play is a series of set times each week where all players with a reservation can participate in fun and challenging games. Play with a partner or rotate partners with each new game. Court Reservations are also available for players who already have established partners and opponents. Court Reservations are complimentary with a Signature Membership. In addition, most Life Time locations offer pickleball lessons, clinics and mixers. Our experienced pickleball leaders at the club can assist you with determining your player level and making recommendations!

View all locations that offer pickleball.

How do I meet other players to play pickleball with?

As a Life Time member, we offer many options for you to meet fellow pickleball players. We invite you to participate in Open Play, our Intro to Pickleball class, clinics and leagues. In addition, we offer pickleball mixers. Mixers are events that are designed to help you meet and play with or against other similar skilled players. They provide a fun and competitive environment and create great social connections within the pickleball community. Mixer pricing, timing and availability vary by club. We recommend getting you connected with the pickleball leader at your local Life Time to ensure you are connected with the correct group of players.

How do I know if there will be anyone there to play with during Open Play?

Our Open Play schedule offers a series of set times each week where all players with a reservation can participate in fun and challenging games. You are able to reserve your spot on the court in the Life Time Digital app to compete and play with other players. To begin, we recommend connecting with the pickleball leader at your club. They will be able to share the most popular Open Play times specific to your Life Time location.

Can someone teach me how to play when I get there?

To begin, we recommend connecting with the pickleball leader at your local Life Time to ensure you are receiving appropriate guidance. The next step is to get involved in an Intro to Pickleball class, which is offered at many of our locations. This class is designed to help you learn the basics of how to play pickleball, including scoring, rules and all the intricacies of playing the game.

Access to Intro to Pickleball dependent on club and membership type.

I’m at the club and am interested in trying it out. How do I jump in?

All pickleball schedules can be found in our Life Time Digital app. To reserve your spot, navigate to the pickleball tile within the app. You can view the full pickleball schedule or reserve a court, or scroll to view pickleball schedules filtered by type of play. To give pickleball a try, we recommend registering for an Intro to Pickleball class, which is offered at many of our Life Time locations. This class is designed to help you learn the basics of how to play pickleball, focus on scoring, rules and all the intricacies of playing the game. The next step is getting involved in beginner Open Play pickleball. Open Play is a series of set times each week where all players with a reservation can participate in fun and challenging games.

Access to Intro to Pickleball and Open Play dependent on club and membership type.

Is there specific age group programming for pickleball?

All ages are welcome on the court! From young kids to older adults, beginners to pros, and fierce competitors to social players, people of all ages and abilities are playing pickleball. Check out Life Time member testimonies.

ARORA Open Play is a time for our ARORA community (our ages 55+ community) to show up, mix it up and play.

Ages 13 and up can reserve court time from Life Time Digital app or the website. Ages 11 and younger must have an adult present on the court to play.

Access to pickleball dependent on club and membership type.

How do I reserve a court?

Pickleball court reservations can be done through the Life Time Digital app. To reserve a court time, navigate to the pickleball tile within the app. Select Reserve a Court. On this page, you can view courts by day of the week and by court. This view allows you to see available court times, along with what activities are taking place on each court by hour. Select an available time. Once your time is selected, you will be prompted to select a duration for the reservation based on court availability, for a maximum of 1.5 hours. Complete the reservation and enjoy the court time with your crew!

Court reservation access and fees dependent on club and membership type.

How far in advance can I reserve a pickleball court?

Pickleball court reservations can be made at 9 a.m. either 8 days prior or 7 days prior to the day of the reservation depending on membership type.

Court reservation access and fees dependent on club and membership type.

Are pickleball court reservations an additional cost?

Membership requirements to reserve pickleball courts vary by club.

For clubs that have the option for all members to utilize pickleball courts, reservations are complimentary with a Signature Membership,* and $20 per hour for all other membership types. This cost is applied to the member reserving the court. *Premier Membership and additional fees apply at our Sky (Manhattan) and PENN1 clubs.

For clubs that require a Signature membership for pickleball court reservations, court reservations are complimentary for all players.

Please see your in-club concierge team for details specific to your club.

How do I cancel my pickleball court reservation?

You are able to cancel your pickleball court reservation via the Life Time Digital app. Select View My Reservations on your app home screen, and open your court reservation. Select the ellipses (...) and follow the prompt to cancel. You can modify your reservation up to 24 hours prior to your reservation. Team members will not be able to cancel the reservation within that 24-hour window.

If I reserve pickleball Open Play, what should I expect?

Pickleball Open Play offers the opportunity to meet new players. We offer a general open play or select clubs might offer open play times with specified skill levels. During Open Play, each player would reserve a space for themselves for a one- hour reservation. Limited spaces are available for registrants to enroll. When you arrive, players will team up 2 versus 2. Once the game is complete, players will rotate partners or allow waiting players a chance to sub in.

Access to Open Play dependent on club and membership type.

How far in advance can I reserve a spot in Open Play?

Open Play reservations can be made 7 days and 22 hours prior to the Open Play time, or 6 days and 22 hours prior to the Open Play time depending on membership type.

Access to Open Play dependent on club and membership type.

I need to cancel my Open Play reservation. What do I need to know?

You are able to cancel your Open Play reservation via the Life Time Digital app. Select View My Reservations on your app home screen, and open your Open Play reservation. Select the ellipses and follow the prompt to cancel. You can modify your reservation up to 2 hours prior to your reservation. To ensure members on the waitlist have enough notification to attend, team members will not be able to cancel the Open Play reservation within that 2-hour window.

What happens if I miss an Open Play time I reserved?

In consideration of other members who are reserving spots Open Play, 3 missed Open Play reservations in 30 days or less will temporarily suspend your ability to make an Open Play reservation for 7 days. There are no implications for missing 1 or 2 in that 30-day period, so no action needs to be taken. We also understand that life happens and have designed the policy to be lenient for those extenuating circumstances.

Can I join an Open Play without a reservation?

We encourage members to reserve their spot to ensure a spot will be available when they arrive. If there are spots available at the start of the Open Play time, they will be given to members first come, first served until the spots are full.

Access to Open Play dependent on club and membership type.

How will I be notified if I am moved from a waitlist spot to an open spot for Open Play time?

If you are moved from a waitlist spot to an open spot, you will receive an email and push notification as well as a message within the message center of your Life Time Digital app.

Will I be assigned a team or with another similarly skilled player?

Many Life Time locations offer Open Play times that are designated for specific skill levels. For example, “Intermediate Open Play” is recommended for intermediate level pickleball players who will rotate partners each match.

If you are looking to be matched with a similar-skilled player, we recommend joining a pickleball mixer! Mixer pricing, timing and availability vary by club. We recommend getting connected with the pickleball leader at your local Life Time to ensure you are connected with the correct group of players.

Access to Open Play and Mixers dependent on club and membership type.

Can I bring a guest with me to play pickleball?

Open Play pickleball is reserved for Life Time members only at this time. The reservation is created through the Life Time Digital app and requires an active Access Membership to reserve.

Members are able to bring a guest along for pickleball court reservations. A guest pass or one-day membership is required, and additional court fees apply.

Open Play and court reservation access dependent on club and membership type.

Carry: A normal pickleball shot bounces off the paddle. A carry is when the ball slides along the paddle when swinging the paddle forward, giving the visual appearance of you throwing the ball off your paddle.

Cross-court: Cross-court refers to a player’s position on the court. When a player is located in one of the playing boxes (let’s say the right side), cross-court refers to the box that is diagonally across from that player (in this example, the left side) on the other side of the net.

Kitchen: The kitchen is 7’ space on either side of the pickleball net. This space a different color from the reminder of the court to make it easily identifiable. A player may not step into this space unless the ball has already bounced within it. A player may not stand in the kitchen and hit the ball out of the air. This is also referred to as the “non-volley zone.”

Live ball: A live ball is a ball that will bounce off the playing surface once. A player must make contact with the ball off of the first bounce or else the ball will become “dead.”

Dead ball: A dead ball can refer to a ball that is no longer in play. A player must make contact with the ball off of the first bounce or else the ball will become “dead.” A dead ball can be a pickleball that has lost its proper bounce.

Dink shot: A dink shot is commonly understood as a softly hit pickleball ball shot that is hit from the non-volley zone that lands on the opposite side in the non-volley zone. A dink shot may be hit directly in front of or cross-court from the player who is hitting the dink shot.  A dink shot can also be understood as a shot hit from anywhere on the court that is softer in nature, intended to land in non-volley zone.

Double bounce: Double bounce indicates that the ball bounces twice thus creating a dead ball or it can make reference to the “two bounce rule” (i.e., double bounce rule).

Double bounce rule: The double bounce rule is a pickleball-specific rule that prohibits any pickleball player hitting the ball out of the air until the serving team and receiving team have allowed the ball to be hit and bounce off the ground once on each side.

Ground stroke: A ground stroke is any shot made on the pickleball court. A common ground stroke in pickleball is called a drive. This ground stroke is a shot that is hit hard with pace using your whole body to generate pressure against an opponent.

Lob: A lob is a type of shot that a player hits out of the air or off the bounce over their opponent’s head.

Volley: Volley means to hit the ball out of the air.

Non-volley zone: The non-volley zone is 7’ space on either side of the pickleball net. This space a different color from the reminder of the court to make it easily identifiable. A player may not step into this space unless the ball has already bounced within it. A player may not stand in the non-volley zone and hit the ball out of the air. This is also referred to as the “kitchen.”

Third shot drop: In pickleball, the three basic shots any player must hit are the serve, return, and a third shot option (lob, drive, drop). A third shot drop is a shot that takes a dink shot and combines distance. With this type of shot, the player hits a soft shot hit, after the return of serve. This shot has a gentle arch intended to be unattackable and land into the kitchen. The purpose of this shot is to take away space from your opponents and allow your team to get to the non-volley zone.  

Do you offer progressive lessons or clinics to further advance my skill?

We are excited to support you in improving your pickleball skills. Our experienced pickleball pros host a variety of options for you to get involved. This includes lessons and group clinics for players at all levels. We also offer private lessons through our experienced, certified professionals. Check out your Life Time Digital app or your home club’s pickleball webpage for more details or speak to the pickleball leader at your club.

Does Life Time host pickleball tournaments?

Select Life Time locations do host pickleball tournaments. Check out your Life Time Digital app or your home club’s pickleball webpage for more details or speak to the pickleball leader at your club.

Where do I enroll for tournament and leagues?

Check out your Life Time Digital app or your home club’s pickleball webpage for more details or speak to the pickleball leader at your club.

What ranking system does Life Time use for pickleball?

While rankings are not a requirement of involvement in Life Time recreational play, the DUPR ranking system is a widely utilized option for general guidelines on player skill ranking. 

How many permanent courts does this location have?

You can view the number of courts available on your home club’s Pickleball Court Reservation page.

What paddles do you recommend for Pickleball?

“The best female player in the world plays with a $100 paddle, and the best male is playing with a $225 paddle,” says Dutrieuille. “You can easily buy a pickleball set for $60. I would suggest trying a paddle before you buy one because they are personal to preference.”

If you’re playing at Life Time, loaner paddles and pickleballs are provided for you complimentary.

What are the two types of pickleball balls?

Pickleballs are designed for either indoor play (no wind) or outdoor play. Life Time has both indoor and outdoor balls. Indoor balls have larger and fewer holes. We recommend an Orange Onix Fuse indoor ball. Outdoor balls are harder and have smaller and more holes. We recommend a Franklin X-40 ball or an Onix Durafast 40 (the preferred ball of professionals).

What is the pickleball court made of?

At Life Time, we have permanent pickleball courts that are built on tennis courts and basketball courts. The court surface is covered with a combination of layers of materials that are then painted with a special acrylic paint to provide a unique playing experience. At Life Time, we are excited to offer a specifically engineered cushioning system that helps protect your joints thus allowing you to play pickleball longer and with better care. 

Are pickleball paddles and balls provided?

Yes, at Life Time, we will have loaner paddles and pickleballs available complimentary with your membership.