Pickleball is a paddle sport which is more often characterized by two things – the equipment that is hurled on either side of the net, i.e., the whiffle ball, and the area on the court where a player cannot stand while hitting a volley, i.e., the non-volley zone. The latter is also called the kitchen.
The kitchen rule is what makes Pickleball unique compared to its close associates namely lawn tennis, badminton and table tennis. Located 7 feet on either side of the net, players are often vary about their court positioning when they are in anywhere near this area. If a player is standing in a kitchen, then the opponent can smartly hit a low shot targeted at the player’s body. The player standing in the kitchen will be forced to volley and will immediately result in him or her losing the point. Pickleball players thus have to constantly ensure that if that entering the kitchen would only be wise in response to a drop shot.
There is another area on the Pickleball court which is not within bounds but certainly is a playable area on the court. This is called the pantry. It is called a pantry because it lies adjacent to the kitchen. The area outside the bounds of the Pickleball court that corresponds to the kitchen area is called pantry. A player can legally hit a volley if they are standing in the pantry. In fact, the shot played from a pantry can rather be difficult to return.
The pantry, though an unofficial term, is an area of the Pickleball court that can certainly be used for communicative and reporting purposes.
