The Beginner's Guide to Pickleball

What is pickleball?

Pickleball is a paddle sport that mixes parts of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. Players use solid paddles to hit a light plastic ball with holes over a low net. It is usually played as doubles (two against two), but singles is popular too.

The court is small, the ball is slow, and the serve is underhand, so beginners can rally within minutes. The challenge comes from the soft, tactical game near the net, which is what makes pickleball so addictive.

What you need to play

• A paddle. Any beginner paddle works for your first games. When you are ready to buy, our paddle guides explain weight, grip size, and materials.
• Balls. Outdoor balls are harder with smaller holes; indoor balls are softer with larger holes. Use the right type for where you play.
• Court shoes. Tennis or court shoes support quick side to side movement. Running shoes are not built for it.
• Eye protection is a smart extra, because the ball moves fast at the net.

The court

A pickleball court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long for both singles and doubles. The net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches high in the middle.

Line or area	What it does
Baseline	The back line. You serve from behind it.
Sidelines	The side boundaries. A ball landing on a line is in.
Centerline	Splits each side into a right and left service court.
Kitchen line	The front edge of the service courts, 7 feet from the net. The line is part of the kitchen.

How to serve

• Stand behind the baseline. At least one foot must be on the ground behind the baseline when you hit the ball, and neither foot may touch the court or the line.
• Serve underhand. For a standard volley serve, swing in an upward arc and hit the ball below your waist. You may also use a drop serve: drop the ball from your hand (no tossing it up) and hit it after it bounces.
• Serve diagonally. The ball must cross the net and land in the service court diagonally opposite you.
• Clear the kitchen. A serve that lands in the kitchen, including on the kitchen line, is a fault. Landing on the sideline, centerline, or baseline is in.
• You get one try. There is no second serve. If the serve clips the net and still lands in the correct service court, it stays in play.

Start each serve from the right side when your team's score is even, and from the left when it is odd. This keeps everyone on the correct side.

The two bounce rule

This is the rule that surprises most new players. After the serve, each side must let the ball bounce once before hitting it:

1. The receiving team must let the serve bounce before returning it.
2. The serving team must let that return bounce before hitting their next shot.

After those two bounces, players may hit the ball out of the air (a volley) or after it bounces. This is why the serving team usually stays back near the baseline after serving, and why the receiving team often moves forward to the net.

The kitchen (non volley zone)

The kitchen is the 7 foot zone on each side of the net. The rule is simple: you cannot volley while standing in the kitchen or touching the kitchen line.

• You may step into the kitchen at any time to play a ball that has bounced.
• If you volley and your momentum carries you into the kitchen, even after the ball is dead, it is a fault.
• You must get both feet back outside the kitchen before you volley again.

The kitchen stops players from smashing every ball at the net. It creates the soft "dink" game that pickleball is known for.

How scoring works

• Games are usually played to 11 points, and you must win by 2. Some tournaments play to 15 or 21.
• In traditional scoring, only the serving team can score a point. If the receiving team wins the rally, they do not score, but they move closer to getting the serve.
• Some leagues and events now use rally scoring, where a point is won on every rally. Check which format your group uses.

Calling the score in doubles

In doubles, the server calls three numbers before serving: the serving team's score, the receiving team's score, and the server number (1 or 2).

Call	What it means
0, 0, 2	The start of the game. The first serving team gets only one server, so play begins as if the first server is already "server 2".
5, 3, 1	The serving team has 5, the receivers have 3, and this is the first server on the team.
5, 3, 2	Same score, but the first server lost a rally, so the partner is now serving.

When the serving team wins a rally, they score a point and the server switches sides with their partner. When they lose a rally, the partner serves next. When both partners have lost their serve, it is a side out and the other team serves.

In singles, the score is just two numbers: the server's score, then the receiver's score.

Common faults

A fault ends the rally. These are the ones beginners make most:

• Hitting the ball out of bounds or into the net.
• Volleying from inside the kitchen or while touching the kitchen line.
• Volleying before the two bounce rule is complete.
• Letting the ball bounce twice on your side.
• Touching the net or net post with your body, clothing, or paddle during a rally.
• Being hit by the ball before it bounces, even if you are standing out of bounds.
• A serve that lands in the kitchen or the wrong service court.

Tips for your first game

• Serve deep and stay back. After you serve, wait behind the baseline for the return to bounce.
• Return deep and move up. When receiving, hit a deep return, then walk forward to the kitchen line.
• Keep the ball low and soft near the net. A gentle shot that lands in the opponents' kitchen (a dink) is hard to attack.
• Talk to your partner. Call "mine" or "yours" on balls down the middle.
• Call the score out loud before every serve. It helps everyone keep track.
• Never backpedal for a lob. Turn and move sideways instead. Falling backward is one of the most common pickleball injuries.

Where to go next

Rules follow the general principles of the USA Pickleball rulebook. Rules are updated over time, so check the current official rulebook before tournament play. Please read our Safety Disclaimer before starting any new sport.