Caitlin Clark’s Fever Teammate Defends Rookie From ‘Kitchen’ Criticism

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After putting on a show on the court in an 83-78 upset home win over the New York Liberty last Saturday, Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark tried her hand at a different sport.

Along with Fever teammates Erica Wheeler and Lexie Hull, Clark enjoyed playing pickleball at a charity event. During one moment, Clark showed her lack of familiarity with the game, as pointed out by an X (formerly Twitter) user.

“Love you [Caitlin], but this was an illegal play. You took the ball out of the air and your momentum landed into the kitchen,” said X user @bitservinglewks. “[Erica], teach her the rules.”

According to the rules of pickleball, the ball needs to touch the floor two times before it can be hit. It’s a little different after a serve where it only needs to bounce first on the receiver’s side of the court. That was error no. 1 for Clark, as she hit the ball before it could even bounce on their side.

Moreover, there is the so-called “kitchen rule”, which says a player “cannot be standing in, or otherwise make contact with the kitchen zone or kitchen line while volleying a ball,” per Pickleballkitchen.com.

Wheeler saw the comment from the fan and admitted that Clark is still figuring out pickleball.

“Hahaha she’s still learning! We wasn’t [sic] taking that moment away from [her] tho lol that was a good smack! I’ll take it,” Wheeler responded.

Wheeler and Clark can perhaps play more pickleball as the Fever have ample time before their next game on Wednesday against the Washington Mystics.