Should I Quit Pickleball Due to Partners Refusal to Learn Rules or Keep Score?

Pickleball should be fun, but one Redditor is stuck in a weird loop with their mom: endless rallies, zero rules, and constant explanations that never get listened to.

For nine months, they’ve played 3 to 5 times a week with a cheap starter setup at an outdoor park, then upgraded to a club that costs $50 a month. The plan is simple on paper: mom wants an hour, at least three afternoons a week, and only wants to hit the ball back and forth. No doubles, no real games, no keeping score, and no reading the rules. Every time OP suggests playing to 11, best of 3, they end up re-teaching serve order, scoring, and why points count or don’t.

Now OP is wondering if quitting makes them the bad guy, or if this is just pickleball purgatory.

Original Post

I have been playing pickleball 3-5 x weekly w/my mom for 9 months. I was helping her find a hobby b4 she retires in a few years.

We started at a local park outdoor court using a cheap starter set I bought. When the winter hit, we joined a local club that’s $50 per month.

She wants to play for an hour, at least 3 times a week in the afternoon when she finishes work. She doesn’t want to play actual games, just hit the ball back & forth.

I have suggested we keep score & play up to 11 best of 3 about 5-6 times, but have to explain every rule, why it’s whose serve or why a point was or wasn’t scored. She refuses to read the rules or play with new people, we have been asked many times to play doubles.

She is only interested in counting how many times we can hit it back & forth without missing. I believe a sport is about improving your game, meeting new people & getting in shape so this seems silly to me and lately seems like a waste of my time.

Would I be the Ahole for quitting?

Comment from u/ProfessorDistinct835

Comment from u/Usrname52

Comment from u/Every-End7495

Comment from u/Emotional_Position62

Comment from u/Vivid-Isopod-7018

Comment from u/Jdawn82

Comment from u/piezombi3

Comment from u/peakerforlife

Comment from u/Vfrnut

It’s the same kind of escalation as sisters clashing at a parenting seminar over discipline methods.

Comment from u/Sensitive_Caramel856

Comment from u/queenofthequeens

Comment from u/Leek5

Comment from u/acornalmond

Comment from u/DissociativeBurrito

Comment from u/Substantial-Story129

Comment from u/FunnyLoud3067

Comment from u/Future-Crazy-CatLady

Comment from u/HolSmGamer

Comment from u/imjustapersontoo

Comment from u/NZafe

OP is putting in the time to play 3 to 5 times weekly with their mom, but mom treats every “real game” like it’s optional homework.

After moving from the outdoor park court to the $50-per-month club, the expectation was actual play, not a nonstop “don’t miss” contest.

The moment OP suggests keeping score and playing best of 3 to 11, they’re stuck explaining every rule from scratch because mom refuses to read or learn.

It gets even more frustrating because other club members have asked for doubles, and mom shuts that down too, keeping OP in rally-only limbo.

How would you handle this situation? Let us know in the comments.

OP might be happier finding a partner who wants to play pickleball like a sport, not like a nonstop warmup.

Before you quit pickleball, read how one person judged skipping a grandmother’s funeral after years of ostracization: AITA for skipping grandmother’s funeral.