Pickleball Rules 101
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America and for good reason! Play pickleball with us, thanks to our partnership with YouFit Gyms. Click here to find a pickleball court near you. Have you been wanting to start playing but don't know the rules? Well, we've got you covered!
Basic Rules
- Pickleball can either be played as a singles or a doubles game, but doubles is most common.
- The same rules are kept whether pickleball is played a singles or doubles game.
The Serve
- The serve must always be underhand
- The serve can only be hit after the first bounce.
- The serve must be made diagonally cross court and land past the no volley zone ie the Kitchen and within the confines of the court. See diagram above
- Only one serve is allowed, except in the event that the ball touches the net and lands in the proper service court (let serves are replayed)
The Two Bounce Rule
- The ball is served in from spot #1.
- When the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning and the serving team must do the same.
- Both team may either volley the ball (hit the ball before it bounce) or play it off a bounce.
The Non-Volley Zone - "The Kitchen"
- The non-volley zone is the court area within 7 feet on both sides of the net, also known as the Kitchen.
- When a player is volleying, it is considered a fault if they step in the Kitchen & therefore lose the point.
- After the player has volleyed the ball, it is considered a fault if they enter the non-volley zone before the ball hits the other side of the court. The volleyed ball is then declared as dead.
- A player may legally be in the non-volley zone any time other than when volleying a ball.
The Scoring
- Points are scored only by the serving team.
- Games are normally played to 11 points, win by 2.
- Tournaments games may be to 15 or 21, win by 2.
The Service Sequence
Singles
- If the server scores a point, they switch sides and serves from the left side of the court. When their score is even, they serve from the right/even court and from the left/odd when the score is odd.
- When the server makes a fault, the serve gets passed to the opponent.
- Then player 2 serves.
Doubles
- Both players on the serving doubles team have the opportunity to serve and score points until they commit a fault.
- If a point is scored, the server switches sides and the server initiates the next serve from the left court
- In doubles, when the serve switches to the next team, the player on the right side of the court begins serving.
Ready to play pickleball?
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