Pickleball rules explained
Pickleball has only a handful of rules and you will know them after one game. Two of them are unlike any other racket sport: the ball must bounce once on each side first, and close to the net you may not volley. This is the complete explanation for singles and doubles, including the scoring that confuses everyone at first.
The serve
- You serve underarm: contact below the waist, with an upward motion, the paddle head below your wrist. You may also let the ball bounce first and then hit it underarm.
- Keep at least one foot behind the baseline and serve diagonally, into the service box opposite you.
- The serve must land beyond the kitchen. A serve on the kitchen line is a fault; every other line is in.
- You get one attempt. If the ball clips the net and lands in the correct box, play continues (no "let").
- On an even score (0, 2, 4 …) you serve from the right, on an odd score from the left.
The two-bounce rule
After the serve, the receiver lets the ball bounce before returning it, and the serving side lets that return bounce as well. Only then may anyone volley. The rule stops the server from rushing the net straight away and makes rallies longer.
The kitchen (non-volley zone)
The 7-foot (2.13 m) zone either side of the net is called the kitchen. You may stand and move in it, but you may not hit a ball out of the air there. If you volley from outside the kitchen and your momentum carries you in, or you drop anything in it, that is also a fault. A ball that bounces in the kitchen may be played from inside it. This is the rule that gives pickleball its character: the game at the net is about soft "dinks" over the net, not smashes.
Scoring
Only the serving side can score. Win a rally as server and you get a point and serve again from the other side. Lose the rally as server and your opponents get no point, but they do get the serve (in doubles: your partner serves first). A game goes to 11, winning by two.
| Singles | Doubles | |
|---|---|---|
| Calling the score | Two numbers: your score – opponent's score | Three numbers: your score – opponents' score – server 1 or 2 |
| Who serves | Whoever won the previous rally as server | Both players of a team serve in turn until they lose a rally; then the serve passes over (a side-out) |
| Start of the game | Server starts on the right at 0-0 | The first team starts at 0-0-2: only one server in the first turn |
| Switching sides | After every point won as server | The server switches sides after every point won; the partner stays put |
| Game | To 11, win by 2 | To 11, win by 2 |
Scoring in the UK
Pickleball England, the governing body in the UK, follows the international rulebook, so the side-out scoring above is what you will meet at clubs, leisure centres and tournaments. Some leagues and social sessions use rally scoring instead (a point on every rally, games to 21) to keep sessions to a fixed length; ask before you start, and if nobody says otherwise, assume side-out scoring to 11.
Five faults everyone makes at first
- Volleying the return. The serving side forgets that the second ball must bounce too.
- Volleying in the kitchen. Especially on a short ball: you step in and hit it out of the air.
- Serve contact too high. The paddle head comes above the wrist or the ball above the waist.
- Serving from the wrong side. Even score is right, odd is left; look at your own score.
- Counting points as receiver. Only the serving side scores; a rally won as receiver only earns the serve.
Other faults: hitting the ball out or into the net, letting it bounce twice, touching the net or post, hitting the ball before it has crossed the net, and hitting it with anything other than the paddle or the paddle hand.
Frequently asked questions about the rules
Can you stand in the kitchen?
Yes, you may stand and move in it at any time. What you may not do is volley there: hitting a ball out of the air while standing in the kitchen, or stepping into it through your swing, is a fault. A ball that bounces in the kitchen can be played from inside it.
What does the score 4-2-1 mean?
That is doubles scoring: the serving team has 4 points, the receiving team 2, and the team's first server is serving. When it becomes 4-2-2 the second server is up. In singles you call only two numbers.
Can you serve overarm in pickleball?
No. Contact is below the waist, with the arm moving upwards and the paddle head below the wrist. You may let the ball bounce first and then hit it underarm; that "drop serve" has been legal since 2021.
How many games do you play?
Socially usually one game to 11. In tournaments a match is best of three, games to 11 winning by two; some finals go to 15 or 21.
Not played yet? Start with what pickleball is and how big the court needs to be. Everything you need is in one set.
