PICKLEBALL GAME RULES

RULE #1 - EACH POINT BEGINS WITH A SERVE

The pickleball game – and each point – starts with the serve.  The player on the right side of the court, facing their opponents, starts the serve.  You serve diagonally to your opponent, into the right or left service area.  The serve must clear the “kitchen” (including the line) to count.

RULE #2 – YOUR SERVE MUST BE UNDERHAND

A pickleball serve must be hit with an underhand stroke with contact below the waist.  Your arm must move in an upward arc when you strike the ball. 

You can hit the ball out of the air (as most players do).  Or you can drop the ball on the ground and hit.  The goal of the pickleball serve is to put the ball in play.  This is quite different than a tennis serve, where the goal is to serve overhand aggressively to win the point.

RULE #3 – EACH POINT CONTINUES UNTIL FAULT

After the serve, gameplay continues until a “fault” is committed.  A fault ends a point.  In pickleball, there are basically 3 types of faults:

-        The serve does not clear the kitchen (including the line);

-        A shot is hit out of bounds – landing behind the baseline or outside the sideline;

-        A shot is hit into the net

Note:  There is no “let” in pickleball – meaning if a serve hits the net, there’s no redo.  The ball is played as it lands.

RULE #4 – YOU CAN’T VOLLEY IN THE KITCHEN

The 7 ft. zone on each side marks the “non-volley zone”, or kitchen.  This means you can never hit a volley—which is a shot hit out of the air – while having any part of your body in the kitchen.  Or even on the kitchen line.  And you can’t let your momentum carry you into the kitchen after a volley either.

RULE #5 – YOU CAN HIT GROUND STROKES IN THE KITCHEN

If your opponent hits a short shot landing in the kitchen, what’s called a dink, you can enter and hit from the kitchen.  Dinks are a defensive shot, and one of the most important parts of pickleball strategy.  Often your best move after moving into the kitchen to field a dink is to dink right back to your opponent’s kitchen.

RULE #6 – THE BALL MUST BOUNCE ON BOTH SIDES BEFORE EITHER TEAM CAN VOLLEY

Before any player can hit a shot out of the air (a volley), the ball must bounce at least once on each side.  This means if your partner is serving, and you start up at the kitchen, you’re in a dangerous position…Why?  Because the returning team can hit a shot right at you, and if you react with a volley, that’s a fault.  You lose the point.  This rule keeps the serving team back on the baseline to start.  Without it, the serving team could easily rush the net and gain an unfair edge every time.  The return team would struggle to ever regain the serve and get points, as we’ll cover in our next rule.

RULE #7 – YOU ONLY WIN POINTS ON YOUR SERVE

In pickleball, you only win points on your serve, and you continue serving until you lose a point.  After winning each point on your serve, you switch sides with your partner and serve to the other opponent.

RULE #8 – BOTH PARTNERS SERVE IN A TURN

In each turn, both players (in doubles) get the opportunity to serve.

RULE #9 – FIRST TEAM TO 11 POINTS WINS, BUT YOU MUST WIN BY 2

Following all the rules above, the game continues until one team gets 11 points.  The catch?  You have to win by 2.