How to play pickleball
The rules, the serve and the scoring: enough to walk onto a court and play your first game.
What you need to play
- A solid paddle for each player.
- A plastic ball with holes in it.
Outdoor balls are harder and have smaller holes. Indoor balls are softer and have larger holes. Use the one made for where you are playing.
How many players do you need?
- Singles
- 2
- Doubles
- 4
Doubles is the most common way to play. The rest of this page describes doubles, with singles noted where it differs.
How big is a pickleball court?
- Court
- 20 × 44 ft
- Net height at the sidelines
- 36 in
- Net height at the centre
- 34 in
- Kitchen, each side of the net
- 7 ft
Singles and doubles use the same court. It is the same size as a doubles badminton court.
How do you serve in pickleball?
- Serve underhand. Your paddle meets the ball below your waist, moving in an upward arc.
- Or drop the ball, let it bounce, and hit it after the bounce. This is called a drop serve, and it is also legal.
- Keep at least one foot behind the baseline. When you hit the ball, neither foot may touch the baseline or the court inside it.
- Serve diagonally, crosscourt, into the service court on the other side. The ball must clear the kitchen.
- You get one attempt. There is no second serve.
- A serve that clips the net and lands in the right service court is in play. There are no lets.
What is the two-bounce rule?
The team receiving the serve must let it bounce before they hit it. Then the serving team must let that return bounce before they hit it.
After those two bounces, you may volley — hit the ball before it bounces — or let it bounce first.
What is the kitchen?
The kitchen is the non-volley zone: the 7 ft on each side of the net, lines included.
- You may not volley while you are touching the kitchen or its line.
- If the momentum of a volley carries you into the kitchen, it is a fault, even if the ball is already dead.
- You may stand in the kitchen at any time, and play a ball that has bounced there.
How do you keep score in pickleball?
- Points to win a game
- 11
- Winning margin
- 2
- Doubles score at the start
- 0–0–2
Only the serving side scores. Games are usually played to 11, and you must win by 2.
In doubles the score is three numbers: the serving side’s score, the receiving side’s score, then the server number, 1 or 2. A game starts at 0–0–2, because the side that serves first gets only one server in its first turn.
- When the serving side wins a rally, the server switches sides with their partner and serves again.
- When the serving side loses a rally, the partner serves.
- When the second server loses a rally, the serve passes to the other side. This is called a side out.
In singles the score is two numbers. Serve from the right when your score is even, and from the left when it is odd.
What counts as a fault?
- Hitting the ball out, or into the net.
- Volleying before both bounces have happened.
- Volleying from the kitchen.
- Letting the ball bounce twice on your side.
- Touching the net or its posts while the ball is in play.
- The ball hitting you.
Is a ball on the line in?
Yes. A ball that touches a line is in, with one exception: a serve that lands on the kitchen line is a fault.
How long is a pickleball game?
- A game to 11
- 15–20 min
Most games to 11 take about 15 to 20 minutes.
These are the standard rules most clubs play, from the USA Pickleball rulebook. Tournaments may add their own.
Getting four people on a court
The rules take five minutes to learn. The hard part is getting four people on a court at the same time. That is what Pickle Club does: share one link, and everyone taps when they’re free.