Pickleball Rules

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).

2. The Double Bounce Rule

• 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.

3. The Non-Volley Zone (aka "The Kitchen")

• 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.

4. Scoring

• 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).

5. Faults (Give Up the Point or the Serve)

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

6. Doubles vs. Singles

• 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.

7. Serving Rotation in Doubles

• 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.

Quick Tips

• 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!