Most players have only ever played a doubles pickleball game and have no idea what they are missing out on. Skinny singles incorporates many of the same dynamics as doubles but only needs two players and is a favorite training drill for duos playing in tournaments.
What is Skinny Singles?
To some Skinny Singles is just a drill or warmup but to others it is a game in and of itself. Skinny Singles pickleball tournaments have sprung up at clubs all around the country.
As the name suggests, in skinny singles you are playing one on one.
Usually players will play cross court from one another, meaning your opponent will be positioned diagonally from you.
But the catch is players only play on a half court as opposed to the usual full. You can only hit shots into the same half that your opponent resides in. In this setup you hit the ball cross court exclusively and the other half is considered out of bounds.
While the opponent’s court is usually diagonal from you in skinny singles, there are a number of variations we’ll get into.
Who is Skinny Singles for?
Skinny singles is great for all kinds of players. Obviously if you only have two people this game is perfect.
It also serves as a great drill to work on specific aspects of your game, as it closely resembles the type of shot selections you’ll get in a doubles game due to the reduced court space.
Skinny singles can be especially good for older players who may struggle with mobility. Doubles is usually these players go to for that reason. But with only one partner to play with, a full on singles match can be daunting because it’s so much space to cover. Skinny singles will serve these players well and ensure they enjoy themselves.
Skinny singles is also great for players new to pickleball. A starter set can be purchased for cheap on amazon and will set up a half court in a small space for anyone looking to learn how to play.
What are the rules?
Skinny singles has pretty much the same rules as normal pickleball. However, you only have one serve. Anytime you lose a point it becomes the other players serve.
When keeping score there is no need to specify server, so you would just say “your score-opponent’s score.”
Cross Court Variations
Anyone who says there’s a set way to play skinny singles is lying to you. It is entirely up to you and your partner’s preferences, and there are a number of fun really variations you can try. Here are a few.
Cross Court
This is probably what most pickleball players think of when you say skinny singles.
You and your opponent line up cross court from each other, standing diagonally.
To begin you serve cross court to your opponent and they will have to return cross court to you. At the end of each point many duos will switch to the other half of the court, either on even or odd point totals. This ensures that you and your opponent hit cross court shots practicing your strokes from both angles.
Down the Line
In this variation you and the opponent line up directly across from one another. The pickleball court is split straight down the middle, so the center line is the boundary.
This creates very different dynamics to playing cross court. It completely alters the variety of shots and angles available.
One awkward element of this variation of skinny singles is that unlike normal pickleball, you are serving straight down the line instead of cross court. Both the server and the opponent are on the same side of the court.
If this bothers you, a simple fix is having the serving player begin cross court and rotating into the other half following the serve.
Alternating
Both the skinny singles variations above work on different shot sets. Why not get the best of both worlds and just combine them.
In this format the first server sets up cross court from the opponent’s half. For the first point the two players hit cross court. Whoever wins the point then changes to other side of the court. Now you are playing directly across from one another until the next point.
Now you’ve combined both types of skinny singles and have a wide set of shot variations to practice.
Skills Worked On
Skinny singles is great for simulating playing doubles. It’s also great practice because you are hitting every shot.
Full court singles can begin to resemble tennis a bit more as hard drives can run the opponent back and forth on the court. Because you are forced to only play on half the court, hard power shots are much less viable and are unlikely to slip past your opponent. The focus of the game becomes accuracy and shot placement.
The match will be won on dinks, drop shots, and at the kitchen line.
Wrapping Up
Skinny singles is great because it can be played by pretty much any level of player and is also incredibly translatable to doubles. This can be a fun warmup to do with your teammate before your next match or a perfect solution to only having one friend to play with.