If your feed looks anything like mine, you’ve seen the viral video of a mixed doubles game finished by an erne into the ocean on an inflatable pickleball court tethered to a yacht in some exotic location. In fact, the video has over 95 thousand views on Instagram. 

The video is no fancy AI rendering – it’s actually real. And it’s a full size pickleball court floating in the beautiful ocean water where players get to dink, drive, and rally on a unique court surface that’s truly unlike anything the pickleball world has seen before. 

The court has short walls that keep the majority of balls from rolling off and into the water. However, there’s no tall fence around the floating court. So what happens when the balls are hit out and bounce into the ocean? Are they gone forever?

Riley Palmer, the innovator behind these floating pickleball courts explained all. 

“Pickleballs float,” began Palmer. 

“And when you’re in the water, parked in a cove, and everybody is paddle boarding, jet skiing, and swimming, they don’t go anywhere. Actually, the staff on the boat want to be the person to go retrieve the pickleballs because they get to swim and be in the water,” Palmer said. 

“The other key is if you’re playing good pickleball, you learn not to hit the ball out. Most people have to learn to soften their touch a little bit,” she said. 

So how does the ball bounce? Is playing on the court completely different from any other court? 

Palmer compared the surface to an inflatable paddle board. 

“The playability is like an eight out of 10. In the videos, you can see people’s feet sinking in but when you’re on it, you don’t really feel that too much. The ball bounce is about ¾ of an inch to one inch less than it would normally be. So that’s why we have to get lower to play on it,” she explained. 

Though it’s a little bit of a learning curve, it’s nothing too jarring. 

“As a coach, I get to have a teaching moment. You have to bend your knees a little bit more than you normally would playing on another court,” Palmer said. 

With the next trips coming up in 2025, Palmer worked with the boat operator to redesign the floating court so it would feel more like a paddle board bottom. Hopefully, to achieve a sturdier surface. 

For more information on how to book one of these exclusive vacations, click here and follow Palmer on Instagram for all trip updates.