Beginner's guide
Pickleball rules, explained simply
Pickleball has a reputation for being easy to pick up and surprisingly hard to master. The rules that trip up new players are the serve, the two-bounce rule and the kitchen. Get those three right and you can play a real game today.
The basics in 60 seconds
- Players
- Doubles (2 v 2) or singles
- Court
- 13.41 m x 6.10 m — a third of a tennis court
- Net height
- 91.4 cm at the posts, 86.4 cm in the centre
- Games to
- 11 points, win by 2
- Who scores
- Only the serving side
- Serve
- Underhand, diagonally, must land past the kitchen
A rally starts with an underhand serve. The serve must bounce, and the return must bounce, before anyone can hit the ball out of the air. From there you rally until someone commits a fault. Only the serving side can add a point, and games run to 11.
How to serve
The serve is the most regulated shot in pickleball, and the most common source of arguments in social play. Five rules cover almost every situation.
- 01
Hit it underhand
Contact must be below your waist, with the paddle head below your wrist and moving in an upward arc. There is no overhead serve in pickleball. A drop serve — bouncing the ball and hitting it after the bounce — is also legal, and many beginners find it easier.
- 02
Keep both feet behind the baseline
At least one foot must be behind the baseline at the moment you strike the ball, and neither foot may touch the baseline or the court until after contact.
- 03
Serve diagonally
The serve travels crosscourt into the opposite service box. The first serve of a game is always from the right-hand side.
- 04
Clear the kitchen
The serve must land beyond the non-volley zone. A serve landing in the kitchen or on the kitchen line is a fault — even though the other lines are 'in'.
- 05
One attempt only
There are no second serves in pickleball. A serve that clips the net and lands in play is live and simply played on — there is no let.
The two-bounce rule
This is the rule that makes pickleball pickleball, and the one beginners break constantly. The serve must bounce before the receiver returns it. The return must then bounce before the serving team hits it. Only from the third shot onwards may anyone volley.
Without it, the serving team could rush the net and put away every return. With it, the receiving team gets time to move forward, which is why pickleball rallies are long and tactical rather than decided by raw power. It is also why the third shot — usually a soft drop into the kitchen — is the most discussed shot in the sport.
The kitchen (non-volley zone)
The kitchen is the 2.13 m strip either side of the net. The rule is narrower than most people think: you may stand in it whenever you like, you simply cannot volley from it.
Allowed
- Standing in the kitchen at any time
- Stepping in to play a ball that has bounced
- Reaching over the kitchen to hit a ball, feet outside
- Following through over the kitchen after a legal volley
Fault
- Volleying with a foot touching the zone or its line
- Momentum carrying you in after a volley
- Dropping your paddle or hat in the zone after a volley
- Your partner steadying you while you are in the zone
How scoring works
Scoring is the part that feels strange for the first few games, then becomes automatic.
- 01
Call three numbers, in this order
Your score, the opposition score, then whether you are the first or second server. '4-2-1' means your side has 4, theirs has 2, and you are the first server. In singles you call only two numbers.
- 02
Every game starts at 0-0-2
The first serving team of a game gets only one server before handing over, which balances the advantage of serving first. That is why the third number is 2, not 1.
- 03
Both partners serve before a side out
When the first server loses a rally the serve moves to their partner. When the second server loses a rally the serve passes to the opposition — a side out.
- 04
Switch sides only when you score
The serving pair swap left and right after each point they win. If you lose the rally you stay where you are. The receiving team never swaps.
- 05
First to 11, win by 2
Games run to 11 with a two-point margin, so 12-10 and 15-13 are normal finishes. Matches are usually best of three. Some tournament and league formats use rally scoring or games to 15 or 21 — always check the event format before you start.
What counts as a fault
- Serving overhand, or making contact above the waist
- Serving into the net, out of bounds, or into the wrong service box
- Serving into the non-volley zone or onto the kitchen line
- Volleying before the ball has bounced once on each side (the two-bounce rule)
- Volleying while any part of you touches the non-volley zone
- Momentum from a volley carrying you into the kitchen, even after the ball is dead
- Letting the ball bounce twice before you return it
- Hitting the ball out of bounds or into the net
- Touching the net, posts or your opponent's court while the ball is live
- Being hit by a live ball anywhere on your body or clothing
Singles vs doubles
Doubles is by far the most common format, and it is the format the NPL is played in. The rules are near identical, with three differences.
- In singles you call two numbers, not three — there is no server number.
- In singles there is one server per side, so a lost rally is an immediate side out.
- In singles you serve from the right when your score is even and the left when it is odd, which saves you tracking who served last.
Rules people get wrong
“The kitchen line is in, like every other line.”
It is the one exception. Every other line counts as in, but a serve touching the non-volley zone line is a fault.
“I can't step into the kitchen.”
You can stand in the kitchen whenever you like. You simply cannot volley from there. Step in to play a ball that has already bounced and step straight back out.
“I won the rally, so I get the point.”
In traditional scoring only the serving side scores. Winning a rally as the receiver earns you the serve, not a point.
“I can volley the return of serve.”
No. The serve must bounce and the return must bounce. Only from the third shot onwards can anyone volley.
“A serve that clips the net is a let, replay it.”
Pickleball removed the let serve. If it clips the net and lands in the correct box, the ball is live.
Pickleball rules: frequently asked questions
Know the rules? Find a court
Reading only gets you so far. Most venues run beginner and open-play sessions where paddles are supplied and you do not need to bring a partner — players rotate on and off court.