Pickleball Rules 2023: Simplified Guide To Take With You

Do the pickleball rules make your head spin?

Pickleball is a simple and fun game.

You use a paddle to hit the ball over a net and land it in your opponent’s court. If you do this more consistently than your opponent, you win.

A pickleball game is played as doubles or singles. This is similar to tennis or badminton or table tennis.

But the pickleball rules can sometimes make it confusing to the new players and the veteran player, alike.

They can be unique and unusual.

What is the double bounce rule?

Why does the pickleball court have a Kitchen?

Pickleball is different, and it can take time to learn the rules of the game.

And while you can read the full USA Pickleball official rulebook online, the full rulebook can be overwhelming (the USAPA rulebook has 68 pages of official rules…yikes!).

We have simplified and organized the rules into easy to understand categories that will make learning the pickleball rules fast and easy.

While we have not included all of the rules, these are the essential ones that you will need to know for recreational play.

Why were the pickleball rules developed?

Pickleball was created for people of all ages, skill levels, and backgrounds.

Bill Bell, Joel Pritchard, and Barney McCallum developed pickleball as a game they could play with their family, including their kids.

They wanted a level playing field for the entire pickleball community.

Many of the rules of pickleball are designed to level out the advantage.

From the Kitchen area to underhand serves, pickleball is filled with rules that keep it fair for everyone.

That’s what makes pickleball fun and a great game for so many people–from young to the more seasoned.

What are the most important rules of pickleball?

There are many rules to the game of pickleball.

And they are all important, especially if you are going to play in leagues or tournaments.

But if you are just starting out, it’s probably best to head to the pickleball court with the key rules in mind.

Later in the post, we will cover many of the rules with more depth and explanation.

What are the basic pickleball rules?

For now, here are 12 simplified pickleball rules:

Your serve must be hit underhand and be started from the baseline.
The serve must land beyond the Kitchen area.
Your serve must go cross court to the diagonal square from you.
You continue to serve until you lose a point.
All shots must land in bounds.
The ball must bounce once on each side at the start of a rally. The serve must bounce before being hit by the receiving team and the return of serve must bounce before being returned.
You can’t hit the ball out of the air while standing in the Kitchen or Non-Volley Zone.
If you are standing on the Kitchen line, you are in the Kitchen.
Nothing can come off of your body (clothes, sunglasses, gum, etc.) and land in the Kitchen after a volley.
After volleying a ball out of the air, your momentum cannot take you into the Kitchen.
Only the serving team can earn points.
Recreational games are played to 11 points (win by 2)

You can download these simple rules to take with you to the pickleball court with these Printable Pickleball Rules.

Now let’s jump into those and many other pickleball rules in more detail.

The Serve

At the start of the game, one team will kick off play with a serve.

You may have played a lot of tennis and you plan to step up to serve the same way.

If you do, you will start the game off on the wrong foot.

But we are here to save you the pain of losing your serve to a fault.

What are the serving rules in pickleball?

You must stand behind the baseline to serve.

The server should keep both feet behind the baseline and hit the serve diagonally over the net into the opposite service box.

The serve cannot be hit into the square directly across from the serving square.

And your feet must remain behind the baseline during the serve. You cannot step into the court area while making contact with the ball.

So, up to this point, pickleball does look a little like tennis. But here’s where we take a twist…

The serve must be hit underhand with the paddle below the waist.

In tennis, a player swings overhead for their serve and hits the ball like a rocket.

But in pickleball, the paddle must be below your waist when you make contact.

While you can still get some power on your serve, it becomes much more about ball placement and spin to gain an advantage.

Serve must land beyond the non-volley zone (or the Kitchen).

A pickleball court has a unique section by the net–on both sides of the court.

There is a 7-foot rectangle called the non-volley zone or the Kitchen (more on this area later).

Your serve must clear the non-volley zone and NVZ line.

If it does happen to land in that area, it is a violation of a service rule and considered a fault–you lose your serve.

Pro Tip: you will want to hit your serve deep into your opponent’s court in order to keep them as far away from the NVZ as possible.

The first team to reach the NVZ line gains the advantage in the rally.

You continue to serve until you lose a rally.

If you serve and your team wins the ensuing rally, you get to serve again to start the next rally.

When your team loses a rally on your serve, you pass off your serve to someone else.

And this is where it gets tricky again.

Does my partner get to serve?

Do I pass the ball to an opponent?

Serving Rotation

After one person serves, it can seem complicated when figuring out who gets the next serve.

But it’s not.

It’s a simple rotation to know who the 2nd server is.

Here is the progression:

Singles Rotation

In a singles game, one player starts the game by serving behind the right-hand serving square.

There are a number of scenarios from here:

If the first server wins the rally, she moves to the left-hand service area and serves from behind that baseline. If the server continues to win the point, she would rotate back to the right and serve again–continuing this progression until she loses the point.

If the server loses a rally, their opponent gets to serve next.

Double Rotation

In a doubles game, the rotation is a little different.

One team starts the game with one player serving from the right service court (okay, we’re the same as singles, so far).

But now things take a twist:

If the serving team wins the rally, the same server moves to the left-hand square and serves again–continuing this rotation until the point is lost.

If the serving team loses a rally, one would think that the partner on the serving team would get a chance to serve. Plot twist. Since that was the first serve of the game, the serve rotation actually transfers and the opposing team serves. This is the only time you skip your partner’s serve attempt.

One player on the opposing team serves–rotating from the left and right side of the court with each point won.

Once that server loses a point, their partner gets the serve.

When that server loses a point, it finally comes back to the partner on the original serving side.

From here, after a point is lost, the serve will rotate back to the original server who started the game.

What is a let serve?

Each player serves until their team loses the point.

If a server hits the ball out of bounds, that is a fault and their team loses the point.

But what if the serve hits the net?

This is a great question.

It is considered a fault if the serve hits the net and lands back in the serving court or falls into the wrong square in the opposite court.

However, if the ball hits the net and lands into the correct serving square on the opposite side of the court, the play is live, and the opposing team should attempt to return it.

How do I know which team should serve first?

When you start a pickleball game, both teams would likely want to be the first to serve–and the first with the chance to score points.

Similar to the start of a football game, you can use a coin flip to decide which team will serve to start the game.

The winner of the coin toss gets the serve.

Serving and Scoring

Only the serving team can score a point in pickleball.

If the receiving team wins a rally, they are not awarded a point.

The serve simply rotates to the next server.

The server must also announce the score prior to serving the ball.

In singles, you should announce the server score and then the receiver score. For example, if the serving team’s score is 8 points and the receiving team has 4, you would simply say: “Serving: 8 to 4.”

In doubles play, you should add the server number at the end.

If you are the first player to serve for your team in the progression, you are considered “1” in the sequence. The second server for your team in the serving round would be a “2” in this rotation.

So, if you are winning 8 to 4, and you are the second server in the rotation, you would announce: “Serving 8-4-2.”

Double Bounce Rule: What is the double bounce rule in pickleball?

Now that you know how to serve, you would think the game would get a little simpler from here.

Not yet.

When a player hits a serve, the receiving team cannot hit the serve out the air (volley) back across the net.

This is an important rule.

The receiver must stay back and let the ball bounce before making a return.

Once the ball hits the ground, the player can hit the ball back across the net.

This keeps the receiving team from standing at the net and smashing the serve into the ground.

After the receiving team returns the shot off the bounce, the serving team must now prepare to return this shot.

If you were planning your strategy, you would be ready at the net to smash this shot as well.

But don’t do it quite yet.

The serving team must also let the return bounce before returning it across the net.

This is called the double bounce rule or two-bounce rule.

Both teams must hit their first shot off the bounce.

The double bounce rule keeps each team from gaining an early advantage and it helps extend the rally.

Once the two bounces have taken place, anything is fair game.

Both teams can smash the next ball or let it bounce and dink their opponent to death.

That’s what makes this game so fun.

It equalizes the playing field and makes it a game of skill and strategy.

The Kitchen (Non-Volley Zone)

A pickleball court is similar in ways to a badminton-sized court or a smaller tennis court.

But the Kitchen or Non-Volley Zone is one of the main differences from other paddle sports.

It is a 7-foot area right by the net on both sides of the court.

And the Kitchen spans 20 feet across–which is the whole width of the pickleball court–right in front of the net on official pickleball courts.

In the game of pickleball, the No-Volley Zone (also known as the NVZ) has a number of unique rules that set the game apart.

You cannot volley (hit the ball out of the air) while standing inside the NVZ.

Pickleball players are allowed to hit the ball while standing inside the NVZ.

But in order to make a shot while standing inside the NVZ, the player must allow the ball to bounce first before hitting it.

This prevents a player from standing right by the net and smashing the ball directly into the ground.

A player may go into the NVZ at any time.

Beginners often believe that you are not allowed to go into the NVZ at all.

This is a myth.

You could stand in the Kitchen the entire game, if you would like–as long as you do not volley the ball.

While it’s not a rule violation, it’s not wise practice.

By standing inside the area, you become target practice for your opponent.

If your opponent hits the ball and it makes contact with any part of your body while you are standing in the NVZ, it’s a fault.

When you enter the Kitchen to make a shot off the bounce, you will want to get back out as quickly as possible.

If you are on the non-volley line, you are considered to be inside the NVZ.

You cannot stand on the no-volley line (Kitchen line) and hit the ball out of the air.

The non-volley zone line is a 2-inch court line that marks off the Kitchen or NVZ area.

If a player steps on the line when they are hitting a ball out of the air, they will be called for a fault.

A player cannot fall into the NVZ after their volley shot.

Sometimes your opponent will pop a ball up while you are standing at the Kitchen.

In that instance, your eyes dilate and your adrenaline spikes.

Your inner Hulk comes out as you prepare to SMASH!

You reach back and put all of your weight into a volley shot back at your opponent.

But as you finish the follow-through on your volley, your momentum carries you forward and you step into the NVZ.

Even if your opponent can’t return your amazing shot, you have committed a fault by stepping into the NVZ.

You lose the point.

Nothing can fall off of you into the Kitchen.

Your opportunity comes again.

Your opponent pops the ball up, and you hit a hard volley back at your opponent.

But your sunglasses fall off your face into the Kitchen.

It’s a fault.

Or your headband comes off and flies mercilessly into the Kitchen…

Fault.

Even if your paddle touches the Kitchen, it is a fault.

Nothing can fall into the NVZ area after a volley–not your pickleball paddle, clothing, gum, glasses, or anything that comes off of your body.

The NVZ can be confusing for the pickleball player.

For more on the Non-Volley Zone, we have an in-depth blog post examining What is the Pickleball Kitchen where we cover the dimensions, rules, and strategies of the Kitchen area.

You can check it out here.

Pickleball Scoring

Scoring is counted by intervals of 15 in tennis (i.e. 30 to 15).

In pickleball, the scoring is much simpler.

You can only score one point at a time, and only the serving team/serving individual can score a point.

What is the max score in pickleball? What do you play to?

In a recreational game of pickleball, the winning team must get to 11 points.

Games are played to 15 or 21 at pickleball tournament play–and often you must win by 2.

Out of Bounds Rule

Finally, we have arrived at a simple rule, at least compared to other rules of pickleball.

You want to keep the ball inside the court lines.

If a shot goes outside of the bounds of the pickleball court, it is a fault.

What if the ball hits a line?

If the ball hits one of the exterior lines of the pickleball court during a rally, the ball is still in play and should be returned.

There are two exceptions:

If the ball hits a line on the serve, it is out.
If the ball hits the NVZ line on a serve, it is a fault.

In any other instance, the ball is live and playable even if it hits a line.

Who makes the line call?

There is no line judge at your local park during a recreational game of pickleball.

The team closest to the play should make the line call of “in” or “out.”

A good rule of thumb: be honest.

Don’t lie or cheat to gain a point.

It’s not really worth it and hurts the integrity of the game.

Make the honest call and the right call as often as possible.

Net Rules

The pickleball net is similar to a tennis net.

It is 36 inches high at the sideline of the court, but it drops a little in the center to 34 inches.

The lower net in the middle is an intentional creation by the inventors of the game to encourage players to play more to the middle of the court, extending rallies.

The ball cannot hit into the net and land back on the hitter’s side of the net.

If that happens, the play is dead.

A fault has been committed.

The ball is permitted to hit the top of the net if it lands on the other side of the court.

If a player hits the ball and it glances off the top of the net, but it lands on their opponent’s side of the court, the play is live.

The opposing player should attempt to return the shot.

Can you touch the pickleball net?

You cannot touch the pickleball net or any of the net poles.

If you do, it is a fault.

How do I stop hitting my pickleball net?

Hitting the net with your shots is a common mistake, especially for beginners.

In pickleball, you want to hit consistent and generally safe shots.

You should allow your opponent to make the mistake.

So you want to keep the ball out of the net.

But you also want to keep your shots low so your opponent can’t smash it on you.

What do you do?

Hit the ball out in front. You want to make sure your point of contact is out in front of your body.
Keep your paddle angle square to the net with a slight downward degree. This will allow you to keep it low across the net, but not into the net. If you go into the net, your downward angle is too much.
Hit the ball at its highest point. If you hit the ball at its peak, you will start your shot at the highest angle above the net. That gives you more leverage to hit a low shot without landing in the net.

Common Faults

We have already covered a number of faults that you will encounter during a game of pickleball.

But there are few more common faults that are important to remember:

The pickleball can only bounce once per side. If it bounces twice on the same side of the court, that team loses the rally.
Catching a ball that is flying out of bounds. If a player hits an errant shot to your side of the court and you see that it is headed out of bounds, you should let the ball travel and land in the out of bounds area. Do not catch the ball. If you do, you will be called for a fault.
Don’t catch the ball on an errant serve. As we covered earlier, a serve must travel to the diagonal square on the opposite side of the court. If the serve flies into the wrong square, you may assume that it is a dead ball and you can catch it. Don’t do that. If you catch it, you have committed a fault.
The ball can bounce twice off your paddle. You can double-hit the ball on one swing. This is permitted as long as it happens in one forward motion. If you swing and mishit the ball, but you swing again and hit it square, this is a fault because it wasn’t a singular and continuous swing.

Conclusion

Pickleball rules can be a little overwhelming when you first start playing.

But we hope this guide will give you a little jump start in your understanding and maybe even a boost in your game.

If you are just starting out in pickleball, check out our Ultimate Beginners Guide to Pickleball. We walk you through the process, step-by-step, on how to get started playing the game. From how to pick a paddle and shoes, to drills, to finding a court, we will guide you through it all.