FAQ
Questions, answered straight
Is the skill check really free?
Yes — the 12-question check, your level, your per-shot radar, and your shareable skill card are free forever, no account needed. Payment unlocks the tools that raise your level: the full weekly plan, your coach, courses, unlimited match history, and clip checks.
How accurate is the level from 12 questions?
The check scores the six shots that decide rallies (dink, third-shot drop, reset, return, serve, footwork) against the same expectations published in our level guides. Answer about your real games — not your best day — and the result lands where honest opponents would put you. Retake it anytime; it sharpens as your game does.
What does full access cost?
$12/month or $79/year (yearly saves about 45%). One price unlocks everything — there are no tiers above it and no upsells inside.
What's the difference between subscribing and buying a course?
Nothing, by design. Courses are video bundles by skill level priced at the same $12/$79 points, and buying one grants the identical full access — plan, coach, library, all courses. Subscribe directly or enter through the course for your level; it's two doors into the same room.
Who are the coaches?
Six AI coach characters — Blaze, Professor Paddle, Captain Chill, Nova, Coach Brick, and Sunny — each with a different coaching voice. Your coach reads your real scores, plan, and match patterns, so answers are about your game. We're upfront that coaches are AI characters; they also share your progress with the platform to build your plans, and we disclose that in the app.
Where do the Global Rankings come from?
Published professional tour rankings, named and dated on the rankings page. If a country's verified data runs out before ten players, the board shows fewer names — we never invent a player or a ranking.
Do the videos play here or on YouTube?
Lessons are curated from published coaching channels and always play in the official YouTube player — we never download or re-host anyone's video. Watching 80% of a lesson honestly (no skipping ahead) earns XP in the app.
What happens if I cancel?
You fall back to the free tier. Your results, plan history, and match log are never deleted, and resubscribing restores full access exactly where you left it.
Can my coach give medical or injury advice?
No. Coaches help with technique, tactics, and training. For anything about pain or injury they'll tell you to see a professional — that line is built into every coach character.
Still curious? Start with your level
Pickleball words, in plain English
Players throw these words around like everyone knows them. Here is what each one actually means.
- Kitchen
- The 7-foot zone right at the net. You can stand in it, but you can't hit the ball out of the air while you're there.
- Dink
- A soft, gentle shot that just clears the net and lands in the kitchen. It forces the other side to hit up, not down.
- Third-shot drop
- Your team's first shot after the serve and return. Hit it soft so it drops into the kitchen — that lets you walk up to the net.
- Reset
- When a hard shot comes at you, you block it softly into the kitchen instead of swinging back. It slows the point down and saves you.
- Drive
- A hard, fast shot hit low over the net. The opposite of a dink.
- Pop-up
- A ball you hit too high by accident. It hangs in the air, and the other side gets to smash it. Most points at low levels end this way.
- Speed up
- To suddenly hit the ball hard and fast on purpose, to rush the other side before they're ready.
- Volley
- Hitting the ball out of the air before it bounces.
- Rally
- One back-and-forth exchange, from the serve until someone wins the point.
- Fault
- A mistake that ends the rally — hitting it out, into the net, or breaking a rule like volleying from the kitchen.
- Side out
- When the serving team loses the rally and the serve passes to the other team.
- Stacking
- In doubles, partners swap sides on purpose so each one plays the side that suits their strong hand. Legal, and common at 4.0 and up.
- Erne
- A flashy shot (say "air-nee"): you jump beside the net — outside the court — and hit the ball out of the air without landing in the kitchen.
- ATP
- "Around the post." When a wide shot pulls you off the court, you can hit the ball around the net post instead of over the net. Fully legal.
- DUPR
- A rating worked out from real match results, on a scale from 2.0 (new) to 8.0 (best pros). Clubs and tournaments use it to set fair games.
- WPR
- World Pickleball Rankings — the pro tour's points list. Win more at PPA Tour events, climb higher.