WHAT IS PICKLEBALL

Court dimensions

A pickleball court is a rectangle that measures 6.1m wide by 13.41m long, with a centerline that divides the court into two equal halves. The court is divided into three zones: the non-volley zone (also known as the kitchen), the service area, and the playing area.

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Serve

The serve must be made underhand and with the paddle below the server's waist. The serve must be made diagonally crosscourt and the server must stand behind the baseline on the right-hand side of the court to start the serve. The serve is a fault if it lands out of bounds, if it fails to clear the non-volley zone, or if it hits the net and does not land in the proper service court.

 

Return

The return of serve must also be made diagonally crosscourt, and the ball must bounce once on the returner's side before it is struck.

 

Volley

After the ball has bounced once on each side, both teams may hit the ball in the air without letting it bounce. This is called a volley. However, players may not volley the ball from within the non-volley zone.

 

Non-volley zone

The non-volley zone is the area on both sides of the net within 2.1 metres. Players may not hit the ball in the air while standing in this zone, although they may reach over the net to hit a ball that has bounced in the non-volley zone.

 

Scoring

Pickleball is usually played to 11 points, and the winner must win by two points. Points can only be scored by the serving team, and a game must be won by at least two points.

 

Faults

A fault occurs when the ball is hit out of bounds, fails to clear the net, is volleyed from within the non-volley zone, or is hit into the net or onto the ground before it clears the net.

 

These are the basic rules of pickleball, but there are many other nuances and variations that can be introduced to the game as well.