Pickleball is played on a 20-by-44-foot court by two players (singles) or four (doubles), hitting a perforated plastic ball over a net with solid paddles. The rules that shape every rally are five: the serve is hit underhand and diagonally into the opposite service court; the serve and the return must each bounce once before anyone can volley; nobody may volley while touching the 7-foot non-volley zone at the net — the “kitchen”; in standard scoring only the serving side can score points; and a game is normally played to 11 points, win by 2. Everything below follows USA Pickleball’s rules summary, the governing body’s own short version of its official rulebook.

Quick reference:

Item Rule
Court 20 ft wide × 44 ft long, same for singles and doubles
Net 36 in high at the sidelines, 34 in at the centre
Non-volley zone (“kitchen”) 7 ft on each side of the net, including its line
Serve Underhand, diagonal, one attempt; drop serve also legal
Two-bounce rule Serve must bounce, return must bounce, then volleys are allowed
Scoring (standard) Only the serving side scores; game to 11, win by 2
Score call (doubles) Three numbers: your score, their score, server number — every game starts 0-0-2

The court and the net

As USA Pickleball’s overview of the game puts it, pickleball blends tennis, badminton and table tennis, and it is played on a badminton-sized court: 20 feet wide by 44 feet long, and — unlike tennis — exactly the same court for singles and doubles. The net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and dips to 34 inches at the centre.

Each half of the court has two zones. Next to the net is the non-volley zone, extending 7 feet from the net on both sides. Behind it, the rest of the court is split by a centreline into right-hand and left-hand service courts — which is what makes the serve diagonal, into the opposite service court, past the non-volley zone. Players use a solid paddle and a plastic ball with 26 to 40 circular holes, per the same overview; indoor and outdoor balls differ slightly, but the rules of play do not.

How a rally works

A point follows a fixed rhythm:

  1. The server calls the score out loud.
  2. The server serves underhand, diagonally, into the opposite service court.
  3. The receiver lets the serve bounce, then returns it.
  4. The serving side lets that return bounce, then plays its third shot.
  5. From that moment the rally is open: either side may volley (hit the ball out of the air) or play it off the bounce, until one side faults.

The serve: underhand, diagonal, one attempt

The serve is deliberately restrained — it starts the rally rather than winning it. Under USA Pickleball’s rules summary, a standard volley serve — hitting the ball out of the air — has three conditions:

  • The server’s arm must be moving in an upward arc when the ball is struck.
  • Paddle contact with the ball must not be made above waist level.
  • The head of the paddle must not be above the highest part of the wrist at contact.

The alternative is the drop serve: the server releases the ball, lets it bounce, and hits it after the bounce. For a drop serve, none of the three conditions above apply. What does not change is position and target: at the moment the ball is struck, at least one foot must be on the playing surface or the ground behind the baseline, and the server’s feet may not touch the court itself or land outside the imaginary extensions of the sideline and centreline. The serve must land in the opposite diagonal service court — which means it must clear the non-volley zone; a serve touching the non-volley zone line is short, and a fault.

There is only one serve attempt per server — no second serve as in tennis. A serve that clips the net but still lands in the correct service court is played on; pickleball has no service “let” replay.

Where you stand to serve follows the score — in singles, the right-hand court when your score is even and the left when it is odd; the doubles sequence is set out in the scoring section below.

The two-bounce rule

When the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning it, and then the serving team must let the return bounce before playing it — two bounces, one on each side. Only after the ball has bounced once in each team’s court may either team volley the ball or play it off a bounce.

The purpose, in USA Pickleball’s own words, is that the two-bounce rule eliminates the serve-and-volley advantage and extends rallies: without it, the serving team would charge the net behind a hard serve and smother the return. Volleying too early — hitting the serve out of the air, or volleying the return before it bounces — is a fault, and one of the most common in beginner games.

The kitchen: the non-volley zone

The non-volley zone is the court area within 7 feet on both sides of the net, and it is commonly called the kitchen. Volleying is prohibited inside it: the rule exists, as USA Pickleball puts it, to stop players executing smashes from a position right on top of the net.

The single most misunderstood point in pickleball is what the kitchen actually forbids. It forbids a shot, not a position:

  • You may stand in the kitchen at any time. A player may legally be in the non-volley zone any time other than when volleying a ball. Stepping in to play a ball that has bounced there is normal, expected play.
  • You may not volley while touching the zone or its line. It is a fault if, when volleying, a player steps on the non-volley zone including the line — the kitchen line is part of the zone, not a safe strip.
  • Momentum counts, even after the ball is dead. It is a fault if a player’s momentum carries them, or anything they are wearing or carrying, into the non-volley zone after a volley — even if the volleyed ball has already been declared dead before they step in. A winning volley followed by a stumble into the kitchen is still a fault.

In short: the kitchen restricts volleys, not feet. If the ball bounced first, you can play it from anywhere. If it did not, your feet — during the shot and in the follow-through — must stay out of the zone and off its line. Close calls at the kitchen line are a normal part of the game; how other sports handle genuinely tight line decisions is a wider topic — cricket’s version is covered in what is umpire’s call, and its review system in what is DRS in cricket.

Scoring: only the serving side scores, to 11, win by 2

Pickleball’s standard system is side-out scoring, set out in USA Pickleball’s rules summary as Traditional Side-Out Scoring:

  • Points are scored only by the serving team. If the receiving team wins the rally, no point is awarded — the serve passes according to the sequence below. Winning a rally as the receiver earns you the serve, not a point.
  • Games are normally played to 11 points, win by 2. At 10-10 the game continues until one side leads by two — 12-10, 13-11 and so on. There is no cap and no single deciding point under standard scoring. (Win-by-a-margin finishes work differently across sports; compare NFL overtime rules for a sudden-death contrast.)
  • Tournament games may be played to 15 or 21, win by 2, so check the format before an organised event rather than assuming 11.

The service sequence in doubles runs like this. Both players on the serving team get the chance to serve and score until they fault — except for the first service sequence of each new game, when only one partner serves before the serve passes to the other team. That exception is why the first score call of every game is 0-0-2 rather than 0-0-1: the opening team starts, in effect, on its second server, so the first-serve advantage stays small. When the first server faults, the partner serves from their correct side of the court; when the second server faults, that is a side out — the serve passes to the opposing team, whose first serve is again from the right-hand court.

Calling the score. Before each serve in doubles, the server calls three numbers: the serving team’s score, the receiving team’s score, and the server number (1 or 2). A call of “4-6-2” means: we have 4, you have 6, and I am my team’s second server. In singles only two numbers are called — the two scores. The whole score must be called before the serve is hit, and the official rulebook then gives the server 10 seconds to serve; taking longer is a fault. Position follows the score too: when the serving team’s score is even, that team’s first server for the game will be in the right-side court when serving or receiving; when odd, in the left-side court. That even-odd check is how players work out, mid-game, whether everyone is standing in the right place.

Rally scoring exists as an alternative format: a point is scored after every rally, regardless of which team served. Some leagues and events use it because games run to a more predictable length. It is not the standard system, so agree the format before you play.

Line calls: the kitchen line is the one exception

The line rule is generous, with a single sharp exception. A ball contacting any line is considered “in” — except the non-volley zone line on a serve. A serve that lands on the kitchen line has not cleared the non-volley zone, so it is short and a fault. The same ball landing on the kitchen line during a rally is in, because the exception applies only to the serve; a serve on any other line of the correct service court — centreline, sideline, baseline — is in.

Faults: everything that ends a rally against you

A fault is any action that stops play because of a rule violation: a fault by the receiving team gives a point to the serving team; a fault by the serving team costs the server the serve, or completes a side out if it was the second server. USA Pickleball’s rules summary lists a fault as occurring when:

  • A serve does not land within the confines of the receiving court — including in, or on the line of, the non-volley zone, or in the wrong service court.
  • The ball is hit into the net, on the serve or any return.
  • The ball is volleyed before a bounce has occurred on each side — a two-bounce violation.
  • The ball is hit out of bounds.
  • A ball is volleyed from the non-volley zone, including the momentum faults above.
  • A ball bounces twice before being struck.
  • A player, their clothing, or any part of their paddle touches the net or net post while the ball is in play.
  • There is a violation of a service rule — foot position, an illegal volley-serve motion, a second attempt.
  • A ball in play strikes a player, or anything the player is wearing or carrying.
  • A ball in play strikes a permanent object before bouncing.

Almost every beginner fault is one of four things — serving faults, early volleys, kitchen volleys, and balls hit out or into the net. Fix those four habits and most rallies you lose will be lost to good shots rather than to the rulebook.

Frequently asked questions

How many points do you need to win a game of pickleball? Normally 11 points, win by 2; tournament games may be to 15 or 21, also win by 2. Only the serving team can score under standard scoring, so a game cannot be won on a rally where your side was receiving — you first have to win the serve back.

Can you stand in the kitchen? Yes, at any time — and you can hit any ball there after it has bounced. What you cannot do is volley while touching the zone or its line, or let your momentum carry you into it after a volley.

How long does the server have to serve? Ten seconds, counted from the end of the score call. The full score has to be called before the service motion starts, and a serve that is still not hit when the 10 seconds run out is a fault under the official rulebook.

Do you get a second serve in pickleball? No. Only one serve attempt is allowed per server. A fault on the serve hands the serve to the partner (in doubles) or completes a side out.

What does 0-0-2 mean? It is the first score call of every doubles game: serving team 0, receiving team 0, server number 2. The opening team starts on its “second” server because, in the first service sequence of a game, only one partner serves before the serve passes over.

What is the difference between the drop serve and the volley serve? A volley serve is hit out of the air and must meet three conditions: upward arc, contact at or below the waist, and the paddle head not above the wrist. A drop serve is hit after the released ball bounces, and none of those conditions applies.

This article is general information, based on USA Pickleball’s rules summary and overview linked above, checked in November 2026. The rulebook is updated periodically and local leagues sometimes adopt variations such as rally scoring — for a sanctioned tournament, the current official rulebook is the authority.