How to play Pickleball

What you need

• A court 20 feet wide and 44 feet long, the same size for singles and doubles. That is the footprint of a badminton court, and many tennis courts carry pickleball lines.
• A net 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches at the center.
• One paddle per player. Paddles are solid, rigid and smaller than a tennis racket, with no strings.
• A pickleball: a light plastic ball with round holes. USA Pickleball describes balls with 26 to 40 holes; outdoor balls tend to be harder with smaller holes, indoor balls softer.
• Court shoes with non-marking soles, water, and someone who will call the score out loud.

Set up the game

1. Learn the court. Each half has a non-volley zone ("the kitchen") reaching 7 feet from the net, and behind it two service courts, left and right, split by a centerline running to the baseline. All non-volley zone lines belong to the kitchen.
2. Choose sides and first service fairly. Any fair method works; USA Pickleball suggests writing a 1 or 2 on the back of the score sheet. Four players form two teams; singles uses a different service sequence.
3. The first serve of every side-out comes from the right-hand court.
4. Start doubles at 0–0–2: serving score, receiving score, then server number. The opening team has only one server before its first side-out, which is why the game starts on "2."
5. Remember who served first for your team. When your team's score is even (0, 2, 4…), that player is on the right side when serving or receiving; when it is odd, they are on the left. This is the easiest way to check positions.

Playing Pickleball

1. Call the entire score before serving. Serve from behind the baseline, within its sideline and centerline extensions, into the diagonal service court beyond the kitchen line. Only one serve attempt is allowed per server.
2. On a volley serve, swing upward, contact no higher than the waist and keep the paddle head no higher than the wrist. For a drop serve, release the ball without propelling it, let it bounce and strike it; the volley-serve swing restrictions do not apply.
3. A serve may touch the net on the way over. If it then clears the kitchen and lands in the correct service court, it is in play. There is no service let in the current rules.
4. Let the serve bounce before returning; the serving team must also let the return bounce. After that, volleying is allowed outside the non-volley zone.
5. Never volley while standing in the kitchen or touching its line, and don't let momentum from a volley carry you into it, even after the ball is dead. You may stand in the kitchen any other time.
6. A second bounce, an out ball, a ball into the net, touching the net or post during a live ball, or another fault ends the rally. Only the serving team scores in this format. After scoring, the server swaps courts with their partner and serves again.
7. A serving fault normally transfers service to the partner, then a second fault causes side-out. The first service sequence of the game is the exception.
8. Reach 11 with a lead of at least two; at 10–10, keep playing. Tournaments sometimes play to 15 or 21, still win by two.

Sample rallies, call by call

Team A is Ana and Ben; Team B is Cal and Dee. Team A won the toss and Ana serves first, from the right.

1. "0–0–2." Ana serves crosscourt to Cal. Cal lets it bounce and returns deep. Ana lets that bounce too (two bounces done), then hits a soft shot that lands in Team B's kitchen. Dee scoops it up high; Ben volleys it away from outside the kitchen. Point A. Ana switches to the left court: "1–0–2."
2. "1–0–2." Ana serves to Dee. Dee's return clips the net and falls back. Point A. Ana moves right again: "2–0–2."
3. "2–0–2." Ana's serve lands on the kitchen line. That is short, a fault. Because this is the game's first service sequence, there is no second server. Side-out.
4. Side-out to Team B. The first serve after a side-out is from the right. Team B calls its own score first: "0–2–1." Cal serves. The rally runs eight shots until Ben dumps a dink into the net. Point B. Cal switches sides: "1–2–1."
5. "1–2–1." Cal serves long. Fault. Now his partner serves: "1–2–2." Dee serves from her current side, which is the right because the team score (1) is odd and Cal, their first server, is on the left.
6. "1–2–2." Ben, receiving, hits Dee's serve out of the air before it bounces. That breaks the two-bounce rule, so it is a fault by the receiving team and a point for B. Dee switches sides: "2–2–2."

Two habits make this smooth: call the score every time, and use the "first server on the right when even" check before anyone serves.

Scoring, with a worked example

Traditional side-out scoring has three rules: only the serving team scores; a receiving-team fault gives the server a point; a serving-team fault costs the serve (to the partner, or to the other team as a side-out).

The score call has three numbers: serving team's score, receiving team's score, server number. At 4–3–1, the serving team has four, the receiving team three, and this is the first server in that service sequence. After that server faults, the partner is server two; it does not mean the second player on a fixed team roster.

Beginner strategy that actually helps

• Serve deep and safe, not hard. You only get one serve. A deep serve to the middle of the box pushes the returner back, and a missed serve hands the rally away for nothing.
• Return deep, then move up. The receiving team can rush to the kitchen line after the return because the serving team must let it bounce. That position at the net is where most points are won.
• Serving team: stay back for the return. Rushing forward after your serve can leave you unable to honor the return's required bounce.
• Learn the dink. A soft shot that drops into the opponents' kitchen can't be smashed, because they can't volley from inside the kitchen. Patient dinking forces the other team to make the risky shot.
• Keep your paddle up and in front. At the kitchen line, exchanges are fast. Ready position saves you more points than any fancy shot.
• Hit to the middle when unsure. A ball between two opponents causes hesitation and makes angles harder for them.
• Move with your partner. Doubles works best when both players advance or retreat together, like they are joined by a rope.

Common mistakes and rule disputes

• Applying rally scoring while claiming to use traditional side-out scoring. Decide the format up front. In side-out, a receiving team that wins a rally gains the serve, not a point.
• Assuming the kitchen is forbidden. The official answer: you may stand in it any time you are not volleying, and you may play a bounced ball from inside it.
• Volley, then step in. If momentum carries you, or your hat or paddle, into the kitchen after a volley, it is a fault even if the ball already landed and the rally seemed over.
• Serve on the kitchen line. It is short and a fault. Every other line is in, including the baseline, sideline and centerline on a serve.
• Ball hits a player. If a live ball strikes you or anything you wear or carry, it is a fault against you, even if you are standing out of bounds.
• Volleying the return of serve. The serving team must let the return bounce. Volleying it is a fault.
• Net touch. Touching the net or post with your body, clothes or paddle while the ball is live is a fault.
• Wrong server or position. Use the even/odd check. In recreational play, sort it out before the serve; once a rally is played, it is usually too late to replay.

Popular variants and house rules

• Official alternative format: rally scoring. A point is scored after every rally, whichever team served. USA Pickleball recognizes it as a distinct format; agree the target score before you start.
• Official format: singles. Same court and rules, but the server serves from the right when their score is even and from the left when odd, and there is no second server.
• Tournament lengths: games to 15 or 21, win by two, appear in tournaments.
• House rule: skinny singles. Two players use only half the court lengthwise. Great for practicing dinks and placement.
• House rule: king of the court. Winners stay on one court and move up; losers rotate down. Popular at busy open-play sessions.
• House rule: beginner serve redo. In very casual sessions, new players get a second serve. This is not in the rules, so drop it once everyone is comfortable.

Teach it in five minutes: a script for the host

1. "Underhand serve, below the waist, from behind the baseline, crosscourt into the box past that kitchen line. One try."
2. "The serve has to bounce, and the return has to bounce. After those two bounces, anyone can hit it out of the air."
3. "This zone by the net is the kitchen. You can't hit the ball out of the air while standing in it or on its line."
4. "Only the serving team scores. Win the rally, get a point and swap sides with your partner. Lose it, and your partner serves; lose again, the other team serves."
5. "We say three numbers before each serve: our score, their score, and whether I'm server one or two. We start at 0–0–2."
6. "Game to 11, win by two. Let's hit a few practice serves and go."

Age and group-size advice

• Ages 8 to 12: start with the drop serve, which is easier than a volley serve, and use a softer indoor ball for slower rallies.
• Teens and adults: standard rules. Most new players are rallying within one session.
• Older adults: pickleball's small court and lighter ball make it gentler than tennis, but warm up and wear proper court shoes. Lateral steps and quick stops are where most strains happen.
• 2 players: singles, or skinny singles for less running.
• 4 players: doubles, the most common format.
• 5 to 8 players: rotate in by "paddle stacking": waiting players put paddles in a line, and the next four go on when a game ends.

Pickleball questions people ask

Check yourself

Sources and edition notes

USA Pickleball 2026 rules: standard doubles, traditional side-out scoring, 11 points and a two-point margin. Rally scoring and singles are distinct formats. This is an introduction, not the full officiating code. Court and net measurements come from USA Pickleball's rulebook and court pages; the 15-by-10-foot service court is derived from those dimensions.

Sources and stated format checked October 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.

• USA Pickleball 2026 rules summary
• USA Pickleball official 2026 rulebook
• USA Pickleball: what is pickleball (court, net and ball basics)

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