Welcome to Lifetime.com, your ultimate platform for all things pickleball. This comprehensive guide will help you navigate the rules of this fast-growing sport, so you can play with confidence.

General Play

Pickleball is played similarly to tennis or ping pong, but with some key differences. The essence of the game is to strike the ball over the net onto the opponent’s side until a player fails to return the ball in accordance with the rules. In this article, all scoring and fault conditions needed to play a full game will be described. Pickleball can be played as singles between two people, or as doubles between four people, with two on each team.

Equipment

To play the game of pickleball, you’ll need one paddle for each of the two of four players, at least one ball, and a regulation court and net. Additional information about the equipment used and exact court/net dimensions are listed below, and can also be found in our equipment guide.

The Pickleball Court

Each side of the net is divided into three areas: the right service area, the left service area, and the non-volley zone, commonly called the kitchen. The net divides the court exactly in half. The non-volley zone/kitchen covers the 7 feet directly against the net.

Scoring (Doubles)

In doubles pickleball, games typically go until one team has scored 11 points and leads by two points. If a team reaches 11 points but does not hold a two-point lead or more, play continues until either team holds a two-point lead, in which case that team will win the game.

Only the serving team can score a point during a rally. Each team gets two service opportunities, one for each player. When the serving team wins a rally, they continue on the same service opportunity with the same server (but will change sides with their partner to then serve to the other diagonal). When the serving team loses a rally, the second server will begin their opportunity. When they lose a second rally, the other team takes over as the serving team. This transfer is called a side out. When a side out occurs, the team that was receiving will serve.

The objective of pickleball is to score points by winning rallies. A team that is not serving must win enough rallies to take over as the serving team, and then while holding position as the serving team, win rallies to score points. A rally ends when a team fails to legally return the ball back to their opponent. A list of fault actions can be found velow.

Score is kept with a three-number sequence. The sequence is: (Serving team score) – (receiving team score) – (number of the server/service opportunity). The number of the server/service opportunity will always be either one or two. Here are some example scores and what situation in the game they describe.

9 – 5 – 2: The serving team has nine points, the receiving team has five, and the serving team is on their second serve. If the serving team wins this rally, the new score will be 10 – 5 – 2. If the receiving team wins the rally, a side out will occur, and the score will now be declared as 5 – 9 – 1 with the other team taking over as the serving team on their first service opportunity.

2 – 4 – 1: The serving team has two points, the receiving team has four, and the serving team is on their first server. If the serving team wins this rally, the new score will be 3 – 4 – 1, and the same server will continue to serve but now from the other side of their half of the court. If, however, the receiving team wins the rally, no points will be scored. The serving team will advance to their second server/service opportunity, and the new score will be 2 – 4 – 2.

Switching Sides and Servers

Whenever a side out occurs, the receiving team takes over as the serving team starting with their first of two service opportunities. The player occupying the right side of their half of the court will take the first service opportunity and continue to serve each rally until the receiving team wins a rally. Every time the serving team wins a point, their server switches the side of the court they serve from. When the serving team loses their first service opportunity by losing a rally that they served, they move to their second service opportunity. The players do not switch sides, and the other player takes over as server, delivering the next serve from the same side of the court that they were already on. This ensures that the serve is never delivered from the same side of the court two rallies in a row.

The exception to this scoring system is the beginning of the game: when starting a game, the serving team begins already on their second service opportunity, and a side out will occur after one rally won by the receiving team, not two. Thus, the starting score of a game is always 0 – 0 – 2. The first serve is delivered from the right side of the court.

Scoring (Singles)

The same rules for winning rallies and scoring apply in singles pickleball, but rotation is slightly different. Since each team has only one player, each team also has only one serving opportunity. When the serving player loses a rally, a side out occurs and the receiving player takes over as the serving player.

Like in doubles pickleball, only the serving player can score points by winning rallies in singles. If the receiving player wins a rally, they do not score a point, but a side out occurs, and they will serve the next rally.

The side of the court that the serve is delivered from depends on the score. If the server’s score is an even number, they will serve from the right side of their half of the court. If it is an odd number, they will serve from the left side of their half of the court. This means, at the start of a game, with a score of 0 – 0, the serving player will always serve from the right side of their half of the court.

Serving the Ball

To deliver a serve, a player must strike the ball so that it passes over the net and bounces in the diagonally opposite service area. At the time the ball is struck, the serving player’s feet must not be in contact with the court or the ground outside an imaginary extension of the sideline/centerline. At least one foot must be on the ground behind the baseline of the court at the moment the ball is struck.

The ball must then pass over the net and land in the diagonally opposite service area. If the ball contacts the net and still lands first in the proper service area, it is a valid serve. If the ball lands first anywhere except the proper service area, whether it contacted the net or not, it is a fault for the serving team.

The non-volley zone (kitchen) is not a part of the valid service area. The line dividing the non-volley zone (kitchen) and the service area is considered part of the non-volley zone and a serve that first lands on that line is considered a fault. Baselines, centerlines, and sidelines are considered part of their corresponding valid service areas.

There are a few guidelines defining a legal serving motion.

  •         The server’s arm must be moving upwards when the ball is struck
  •          The paddle must not contact the ball above the server’s waist level
  •         The head of the paddle must not be above the highest part of the wrist at contact

Drop Serve

The previous three guidelines do not apply in the case of a drop serve.

A drop serve is a legal service method performed by dropping the ball either from the hand or off the surface of the paddle from any unaided height, then striking the ball after it bounces any number of times (usually once). In a drop serve, the ball must not be spun or propelled in any manner prior to striking the ball to make the serve. The same foot placement rules apply to drop serves as all other serves, and as always, the ball must travel and land in the diagonally opposite service area.

More Serve Rules

The ball cannot be spun or otherwise manipulated prior to being struck as part of the serve, other than being released to be hit. Each server only gets one serve attempt. If the serve fails it is considered a fault for the serving team. The score of the game must be called out by the serving team prior to each serve.

Winning Rallies and Applying Faults

A rally ends whenever play is stopped because of a fault or if a ball bounces twice on the same side of the court before bouncing once on the other side of the court. If a team/player fails to return the ball before it bounces twice on their side of the court, they lose the rally.

Any team that commits a fault automatically loses the rally. Here is a list of faults that regularly occur during a pickleball game:

  •          A player strikes the ball so that it lands outside the bounds of the court
  •          A player strikes the ball so that it fails to go over the net and instead lands on their own side of the court (see “Around the Post” for more information)
  •          A player or team strikes the ball twice before it has travelled to the other side of the court and bounced once (incidental double contact as part of the same striking motion is allowed)
  •          A player volleys the ball while in contact with the non-volley zone (kitchen) (see “Non-Volley Zone”)
  •          A player receiving a serve strikes or contacts the ball before it has bounced once on their side of the court
  •          The serving team, after the serve, strikes the ball before it has bounced once on their side of the court (see “Double Bounce Rule”)
  •          A player hits the ball under the net or between the net and the net post
  •          A player (including their clothes and paddle) contacts the net, posts, or any part of the opponent’s side of the court while the ball is live
  •          A player contacts the ball with any part of their body or clothing that is not their paddle or the hand holding the paddle
  •          A player strikes the ball so that it contacts any permanent object before bouncing on the court. Examples of permanent objects are walls, ceilings, lights, anything that is not a player or their paddle
  •          A player contacts the ball before it has completely passed the threshold of the net into their side of the court

The Non-Volley Zone (Kitchen)

The area of the court that extends seven feet from the net on both sides is called the non-volley zone, or kitchen. The line dividing the non-volley zone (kitchen) from the service areas (the rest of the court) is considered part of the non-volley zone (kitchen). Players cannot volley the ball while contacting any part of the non-volley zone, or while contacting any other player or object that is in the non-volley zone.

A volley is when the ball is struck by a player before it has bounced on their side of the court. Any volley must begin, occur, and end without the player contacting any part of the non-volley zone. If a player’s momentum carries them into the kitchen after the ball is struck, it is a fault.

Players can enter or be in the non-volley zone (kitchen) at any time, but must remove themselves completely from the non-volley zone prior to attempting any volley, and both feet must establish contact with the court outside of the non-volley zone prior to attempting the volley.

Once the ball has bounced on the court, players may be in contact with the non-volley zone as they strike the ball.

Double Bounce Rule

The ball must bounce once on each side of the court before it can be volleyed (hit out of the air without first bouncing). A player receiving the serve must allow it to bounce once before returning it. The serving team or player must then also allow the ball to bounce once on their side of the court before striking it. After the ball has bounced once on each side of the court, volleys are fully allowed by both teams within the confines of the other rules.

Around the Post

The ball does not expressly have to pass over the threshold of the net to remain in play. A ball that is struck by a player and then first lands on the opponent’s side of the court without contacting anything else first is a valid return. This is generally only possible when a ball is struck at the edges of the court and is sent to the opposing side of the court by passing around the net instead of over it.

If the ball contacts any part of the net post, or lands first out of bounds, it is a fault.

As pickleball is played, numerous rare rules interactions can occur, and new situations may call for additional guidance and clarification. For an even more thorough guide to the rules of pickleball, including rare and exceptional rules, you can read the official rules of pickleball on the USA Pickleball website.