Pickleball Rules: What You Need to Know to Play
Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong — and it's easier to learn than you think. Here are the key rules to get you started:
1. The Serve- Must be hit underhand.
- The paddle must make contact with the ball below the waist.
- The serve must go diagonally crosscourt and land in the opponent's service box.
- The serve cannot land in the "kitchen" (non-volley zone).
- Only one serve attempt is allowed (except in doubles on the first turn, where the first server gets a second chance if faulted).
- After the serve, the receiving team must let the ball bounce once before returning.
- Then, the serving team must also let the return bounce once before hitting.
- After the two bounces, players may volley (hit out of the air) or play groundstrokes.
- The kitchen is a 7-foot zone on either side of the net.
- You can't volley while standing in the kitchen, or even if your foot touches the line.
- You may step into the kitchen after the ball has bounced, but you must exit before volleying again.
- Only the serving team can score points.
- Games are typically played to 11 points, and you must win by 2.
- In doubles, each team has two servers per turn (except the first team to serve in a game).
Common faults include:
- Hitting the ball out of bounds
- Volleying from the kitchen
- Not letting the ball bounce on the second shot
- Double hitting or missing the ball
- Doubles is more common and uses a slightly more complex scoring method (two servers per side).
- In singles, each player serves until they lose the rally, and scoring is simpler.
- When a team wins a point, the server switches sides with their partner and continues serving.
- After both partners have served and lost rallies, the serve passes to the other team.
- Always call out the score before serving.
- Play fair and respect the kitchen.
- Have fun — it's a social sport with a low learning curve!