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Le Tableau du Dimanche Playing in clubs and tournaments: rules, licenses, rankings

Pickleball, tennis, padel: three rackets, three courts, three ways to play

Published 29 October 2026 Revised 30 October 2026 4 minutes to read

The editors of Le Tableau du Dimanche.

Aerial view of a tennis court marked with several small pickleball courts.
One tennis court, several pickleball courts. Four pickleball courts fit inside one tennis court, which is why tennis clubs are interested in the sport. The court is much smaller and the paddle is rigid, so the game is quick to pick up. A simple calculation lets you estimate a club's capacity based on its number of courts.

This article, filed under "Pickleball, tennis, padel : trois raquettes, trois terrains, trois manières de jouer," works by inventory and cross-reference. You'll know how to place pickleball next to tennis and padel, including how much space the court takes up.

In brief: FFT pickleball rankings are published every quarter (November, February, May and August). The FFT pickleball ranking includes age equivalences for the +50 and +70 categories. Pickleball is offered at about 850 FFT-affiliated clubs. The sport fits easily onto existing tennis courts.

Words to define first

Before going further, take a look at the definitions recorded below.

Double bounce rule

The double bounce rule means the ball has to bounce once on each side before volleys are allowed.

Here's an example: the returner lets the serve bounce, then the server lets the return bounce before they can volley.

A whole entry is devoted to this term: Règle du double rebond.

Dedicated pickleball club

A dedicated pickleball club is a facility devoted entirely to this sport.

To make it concrete, here's a scenario: in Nîmes, a club devoted entirely to pickleball was announced as the first in the South.

See Club dédié au pickleball to read the full definition.

What the comparison has to settle

As a matter of principle, note this: the serve must be made below the hip, diagonally, and the ball must land in the opponent's zone. Jot this principle down in your own files.

Here's the basic idea to keep in mind: pickleball can be played as a family pastime or in competition, in mixed teams or across generations. Match this principle against the cited source.

Here's the basic idea to keep in mind — in doubles, each team has a "double chance" system: both partners serve one after the other before the serve passes to the other team. At the start of the game, there's only one serving chance. Match this principle against the cited source.

The criteria to look at: the essentials

The criteria below work as a grid for comparing and ranking your options.

  • Pickleball is most often played in doubles, though singles exists too.
  • A pickleball player can be ranked in three categories — singles, gender doubles and mixed doubles.
  • In pickleball, points are counted 1 by 1, and only the server can score.
  • In France, FFT pickleball competition takes the form of tournaments organized at four points-award levels: K25, K100, K250 and K500, plus the K1000 level for the big events.
  • The double bounce rule cuts down the advantage of powerful serves and encourages longer rallies.

Points side by side

The items below deserve a slow read and a cross-check.

  • The 3.0 level is for first-time competitors — it's the logical starting point for a player who's new to competition.
  • Pickleball is a racket sport that blends tennis, badminton and table tennis, and it's played indoors or outdoors, in singles or doubles.
  • Double bounce rule — after the serve, the ball has to bounce once on each side before volleys are allowed.
  • The events offered at tournaments are singles, gender doubles and mixed doubles, whatever the tournament's tier.
  • Only the serving team scores points — games are generally played to 11 points, win by 2 points, and some tournaments can go to 15 or 21 points.

To put it to the test, you'll find a pickleball paddle at Rally: one reference among others.

Summary of the entry

The items below make up the summary for your own files.

  • Only the serving team scores points.
  • A pickleball player can be ranked in three categories.

Pickleball courts in your tennis courts

Estimate how many pickleball courts are available.

To see how it works, look at this example:

ParameterValue
Number of tennis courts2 courts
Pickleball courts8 courts

Fill in the fields below and the total updates on its own, no need to submit.

Pickleball courts: — courts

Assumption: four pickleball courts per tennis court, according to the FFT.

Source: Le pickleball.
Reuse this table

For a club, an association or a blog: the table and its credit, ready to paste.

Closing the entry

Here's the order of the pieces you've just gone through: words to define first, what the comparison has to settle, the criteria to look at: the essentials, and points side by side. Always check the date of a reference before you lean on it.

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Our sources

The federal framework for pickleball in France has been changing since the 2026 delegation: check licenses, prices and regulations on the FFT website before you sign up.

How this article was verified

This article draws on 7 sources: 6 reference organizations and 1 press outlet.

The facts were checked against their sources on October 15, 2026.

The method we followed: Sources et vérification.