Pickleball Rules

1. Court & Equipment

• Court size: 20 ft × 44 ft (same as doubles badminton court).

• Net height: 36 in at sidelines, 34 in at center.

• Non-volley zone (NVZ, or "kitchen"): 7 ft from each side of the net, extends across the court.

• Ball: Hard plastic perforated ball (similar to a wiffle ball).

• Paddle: Solid, usually composite or wood, larger than ping pong but smaller than tennis racquet.

2. Starting Play

• Serve must be underhand, below the waist, with the paddle moving upward.

• Ball must be struck in the air (no bounce serves except “drop serve” variation).

• Diagonal serve: Ball must land in the opponent’s diagonal service court beyond the NVZ line.

• Only one service attempt is allowed (except in case of a “let” serve, where the ball clips the net but still lands correctly).

3. Serving Sequence

• Doubles:

  • Both players on a team serve before the serve switches to the other side (except at the start of the game where only one player serves).

  • Server calls score as: server’s score – receiver’s score – server number (1 or 2).

• Singles:

  • Serve from right if score is even, left if odd.

• Side-out: When the serving team loses a rally, the serve goes to the other team.

4. Two-Bounce Rule

• After the serve, the ball must bounce once on each side (serve return must bounce, then serve team’s next shot must bounce).

• After these two bounces, volleys (hitting out of the air) are allowed.

5. Non-Volley Zone (Kitchen)

• Players may not volley (hit out of the air) while standing in the NVZ or touching its line.

• A player may enter the NVZ to play a ball that bounces there, but must exit before volleying.

• Momentum rule: If a player volleys outside the kitchen but their momentum carries them into the NVZ, it’s a fault.

6. Scoring

• Only the serving team can score points.

• Games are typically played to 11 points, win by 2.

• Some formats go to 15 or 21 in tournaments.

• Switch sides at 6 points in a game to 11, or at 8 points in games to 15/21.

7. Faults

A fault results in loss of serve (or point if the other team is serving). Faults include:

• Hitting the ball out of bounds.

• Ball not clearing the net.

• Volleying before the two-bounce rule is satisfied.

• Volleying in the NVZ.

• Ball striking a player or their clothing.

• Wrong server or serving out of turn.

8. Let Rule

• As of 2021, let serves (when ball hits net and lands in) are played live — no redo.

9. Player Positioning

• Doubles: At start, both players of serving team behind baseline. Only the server moves up after serve. Partner waits.

• Receiving team: One player returns serve, partner can position anywhere.

10. Conduct & Etiquette

• Call your own lines if not refereed (benefit of doubt goes to opponent).

• No distraction, unsportsmanlike conduct, or stalling.

• Timeouts: typically 2 per game (1 minute each).