What to Wear to Play Pickleball

Wear athletic shorts or a skort with a pocket deep enough to hold a pickleball, a breathable moisture-wicking top, and proper court shoes. That is the complete answer. The pocket is the only clothing feature that changes anything about playing the game, and the shoes are the only item with an injury consequence.

Everything else — brand, pickleball-specific labelling, colour, compression layers — is preference. Open play at a public court is, almost without exception, people in whatever they own. There is no dress code outside private clubs and sanctioned events, and a sanctioned-event dress code is usually just "athletic attire".

You get two serves in pickleball only in the sense that your partner serves after you — but you do need somewhere to put a second ball when you are serving, and far more often somewhere to put the ball between rallies while you talk about the score. Without a pocket you end up holding a ball in your non-paddle hand all game, which is genuinely annoying and quietly affects your ready position.

So the test when you look at a pair of shorts or a skort is simple: will a 2.9-inch plastic ball sit in that pocket without falling out when you lunge?Mesh liner pockets on running shorts usually fail this. Tennis shorts, golf shorts and skorts with liner pockets usually pass. A ball is about 0.8 oz, so weight is not the issue — depth and opening width are.

A second, smaller consideration: pockets that zip are worth having for a car key or a phone, because there is nowhere safe on a public court to leave either.

Running shoes. This is the one genuine mistake. A running shoe is engineered to roll forward through a gait cycle, with a soft, tall heel and a narrow base. Pickleball asks you to push off sideways and stop hard on a hard surface, and that soft tall heel is exactly the geometry that tips an ankle over. Court shoes have a low, wide, stable platform and a durable non-marking outsole. Our what shoes not to wear post is blunt about it, and pickleball shoes vs tennis shoes explains why a tennis shoe is a perfectly correct and often cheaper answer.

Anything with a hood or a loose drawstring at the front. Minor, but the paddle swings near your chest in a hands battle, and a dangling cord catches. Indoors, loose cotton also holds sweat and gets heavy.

Indoors.Gym floors are warmer than they look and there is no breeze, so err lighter than you think. Check whether your venue requires non-marking soles — most do, and most court shoes already comply. An indoor gum outsole grips a wood floor better than an outdoor court outsole does.

Outdoors in heat. Light colours, a cap or visor, and a top you do not mind soaking. Sunscreen on the back of the neck and the backs of the calves, which are the two places outdoor players consistently burn. If your hands sweat enough that the paddle slides, a glove or a dry overgrip from best overgrips fixes it more cheaply than a towel does.

Outdoors in cold.Layer so the top layer comes off after ten minutes, because it will. The specific cold-weather problems are your hands and the ball: cold hands grip harder, which wrecks touch shots, and an outdoor ball gets brittle and cracks far more readily below about 50°F. A thin glove on the paddle hand genuinely helps, and crack-resistant balls are worth it if you play through winter. Long sleeves also keep the elbow warm, which matters if you are managing tennis elbow.

Wear the athletic clothes you already own, pick the shorts with the deepest pocket, and wear the flattest-soled shoes you have — a tennis shoe, a volleyball shoe, a court trainer, even a flat-soled skate shoe is better than a running shoe for one session. Bring water, and bring a second ball in your pocket.

Then buy court shoes before your third session, not your tenth. They are the one item on this page worth spending money on before you are sure you like the game, because the downside of not having them is an ankle rather than a worse dink. Everything else can wait — our best pickleball gear page puts the whole kit in buying order, and pickleball gear for beginners covers the cheapest viable version.

Four items, one per category, all carried on this site with live prices. The shoes are the purchase that matters; the rest is about the pocket and the sun.

Skechers Viper Court Pro 2.0— who it is for: most players, and anyone playing long sessions. A pickleball-specific court shoe with the Arch Fit contoured footbed, a cushioned midsole and a court outsole with lateral support. It is the shoe we recommend most because it solves the actual recreational problem, which is three hours on concrete. Caveats: soft cushioning is less stable than a firm low platform, so aggressive players may want something firmer, and sizes and colors are separate Amazon listings.

K-Swiss Men's Tennis Shorts with Ball Pockets— who it is for: anyone who has spent a game holding a ball in their off hand. Lightweight athletic court shorts with ball pockets, from a brand that has made court footwear and apparel for decades. The pockets are the entire reason to buy them. Caveat: each size is a separate listing, so check you are on the right one.

Stelle High-Waisted Skort with Pockets— who it is for: players who want a skort rather than shorts and still need somewhere to put a ball. A high-waisted athletic skort with built-in liner shorts and pockets in the liner, in a stretch fabric with a tummy-control panel per the listing. Caveat: liner pockets vary in depth between sizes, so test the ball fits before you cut the tags off.

Tifosi Intense sunglasses— who it is for: outdoor morning and late-afternoon play, when the ball disappears into the sun. A sport wrap with a silver mirror smoke lens. Caveat, stated plainly: this is glare protection, not impact protection. If you want your eyes protected from the ball, buy a lensed eyeguard from our eyewear page instead of, or as well as, these.

Athletic shorts or a skort with a real pocket, a breathable top, and court shoes. Never running shoes. Layer for cold mornings and expect to shed a layer; wear a cap and sunscreen in heat; take a glove if your hands sweat or the morning is cold.

Spend money on the shoes and almost nothing on the clothes. A pickleball-branded shirt plays exactly like a plain one, and the pocket on a $30 pair of tennis shorts holds a ball just as well as the pocket on a $90 pair.