Pickleball Skill Level Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Skill Level

Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Complete the Player Skill Level Assessment below to generate your Skill Level score. By taking this quick three to five-minute assessment, you’ll also become a free Casual Member of USA Pickleball! As a member, you’ll get access to exclusive tips, strategies, and resources to help you improve your game and stay connected to the growing pickleball community.

Step 1 of 13 - Personal Information

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Agreement & Consent(Required)

By checking this box, I acknowledge that I am signing up as a USA Pickleball Casual Member at no cost. I understand that by completing this registration, I am opting in to receive all USA Pickleball communications, including but not limited to newsletters, event updates, promotional materials, and membership-related announcements. I further understand that once my membership is created, I may cancel my membership or update my communication preferences at any time by logging into my account at usapickleball.sport80.com.

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How does my athletic background help me on the pickleball court(Required)

Very little, everything feels very awkward and forced.

Fairly confident in my hand-eye coordination.

Catching on quickly and feel that previous activities/sports (playing catch, tennis, table tennis, racquetball, etc.) help me on the pickleball court.

Definitely using previous specific skills in my footwork, paddle skills, and shot choices.

Quickly adapting advanced skills from other sports to pickleball (paddle skills, movement, strategy).

How is my overall health and mobility to meet the demands of effective pickleball?(Required)

Severely limits my play.

I have to work very hard to keep up the required movement and energy for effective play.

I have no real health or mobility limitations and can readily adapt to pickleball play.

I maintain excellent health and mobility and my body and mind perform well to develop good pickleball skills.

I stay in great athletic shape and push myself to develop and perform advanced pickleball skills.

Which answer best describes your forehand return of serve shot (forehand groundstroke)?(Required)

Limited success at very basic forehand (just trying to get the ball over the net).

Very basic forehand groundstroke success with some direction) if little movement is required.

Varied success with medium-paced forehand groundstrokes with limited direction, pace, and depth.

Fairly consistent success with varied direction, pace, and depth.

Excellent placement with varied direction, pace, depth, and spin.

Which answer best describes your backhand return of serve shot (backhand groundstroke)?(Required)

Very awkward, almost no success.

Starting to learn backhand, limited success, try to avoid by hitting forehand.

Learning proper form, somewhat consistent success.

Good stroke form, moderate success with direction, pace, and depth.

Excellent placement with varied direction, pace, depth, and spin.

Which answer best describes your serve?(Required)

Just trying to get the ball into the proper square with limited success.

Serving into the proper square with moderate success.

Consistently serve into proper square with some depth control.

High majority of serves placed well with varying depth, speed, and placement.

High level of variety, placement, depth, and pace of serves.

Which answer best describes your return of serve?(Required)

Just trying to get the ball over and keep it in play.

Learning to attempt deep returns.

Moderate control of depth and placement allowing time to get to non-volley zone (kitchen).

High majority controlled depth and placement keeping opponents back and defensive.

High level of ability using touch, spin, pace, and placement to set up offensive situations for you and your partner.

Which answer best describes your dinking?(Required)

Try it during warm up, but has little use or bearing in my game.

Starting to understand and try some basic dinking- sustaining a short rally with players of similar ability.

Developing consistency, control, and a basic understanding of patience, variations of pace, and which balls are attackable.

Consistent and offensive dinking, placing ball well with good success at changing shot types and attacking high balls.

High success of strategic variability of dinks, moving opponents and creating opportunities to attack.

Which answer best describes your volleys (a ball hit out of the air)?(Required)

I hit many of these into the net or out.

Developing a very basic punch volley (using a punching motion as opposed to a whole arm swing) with little directional or pace control.

Can volley medium-paced shots with some control.

Developing consistent volleys of a variety of shots and implementing blocks, top spin, swing volleys, and overheads with good consistency.

Able to block hard incoming shots resetting the point, excellent placement, high level of quick and accurate response in attacks and counterattacks.

Which answer best describes your 3rd shot practices (your next shot after serving)?(Required)

Do not yet understand the strategy surrounding this shot.

Generally hitting a medium-paced ball with limited direction (very minimal attempts at dropping).

Intentionally developing drop shot as a way to get to the non-volley zone (kitchen) mixed in with drives (inconsistent results).

Somewhat consistent success with drops and drives getting you and your partner to the non-volley zone (kitchen).

Consistently executes effective backhand and forehand 3rd shot strategies placing the ball well to gain advantage.

Which answer best describes your concept and practice of pickleball basics?(Required)

Very basic rules/scoring and keep the ball in play.

Basic rules/scoring, basic position relative to scoring, moving to non-volley zone (kitchen), good ready position.

Rules/scoring, good positioning, middle strategy, communication, hard vs. soft game, and basic stacking.

All of the above with routine stacking, switching and avoiding coverage gaps.

All of the above with integrating court awareness and shot type and placement strategically.

Which answer best describes your movement in pickleball?

Get to the ball and hit it- hopefully keeping it in play.

Developing balanced side and forward movement.

Moving forward to non-volley zone (kitchen), anticipating shots well enough to start setting up for different shots, developing good footwork, following the ball, and moving with partner.

Good anticipation of opponent allows good footwork, quick, efficient movement and reliable teamwork.

Moving well with partner, good forward movement resulting from dropping, resetting, and drives, and quick movement enabling poaches, Ernes, around-the-post shots, and counterattacks.

Which answer best describes your strategy in pickleball?(Required)

Keeping the ball in play

Hitting the ball away from opponents, developing court awareness (where players are relative to shot selection possibilities).

Keeping opponents back, trying to play at non-volley zone (kitchen), positioning to minimize coverage gaps on your side and implementing choices between the hard and soft game to gain advantage.

All of above and identifying opponents’ weaknesses and exploiting.

All of above and controlling net play, minimizing unforced errors while creating coverage gaps on opponents side, and adapting play style to game dynamics.

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Player Level Score(Required)