Pickleball Rules

1. Basic Overview

Played as singles (1v1) or doubles (2v2).

The game is played on a badminton-sized court (20' x 44') with a net height of 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches in the center.

Players use paddle-style rackets and a plastic ball with holes (similar to a wiffle ball).

2. Serving Rules

Underhand serve: The ball must be hit below waist level.

Diagonal serve: The ball must be served to the opponent’s diagonal service court.

One serve attempt: Except in the case of a "let" (where the ball touches the net but still lands in the correct service area).

In doubles, both players on a team get to serve before the serve moves to the opponents (except at the start of the game, where only one player serves before switching sides).

3. Scoring System

Games are played to 11 points, and a team must win by at least 2 points.

Only the serving team can score points.

The score is called in this order in doubles: server's score, receiver's score, and server number (1 or 2).

4. Double Bounce Rule

Each team must let the ball bounce once on their side before volleying.

This means that after a serve, the receiving team must let the ball bounce before returning, and then the serving team must let it bounce before hitting it again.

After this, players may volley (hit the ball out of the air) if they are outside the non-volley zone.

5. Non-Volley Zone (The Kitchen)

The 7-foot area on both sides of the net is called the "kitchen" or non-volley zone.

Players cannot volley (hit the ball out of the air) while standing inside the kitchen.

Players can be in the kitchen if the ball has bounced first.

6. Faults (Mistakes)

Hitting the ball out of bounds.

Ball not clearing the net.

Volleying in the kitchen.

Violating the double bounce rule.

Stepping on or into the kitchen while volleying.

7. Winning the Game

The first team to reach 11 points (win by 2) wins.

Some tournaments play to 15 or 21 points (still win by 2).