The Rules Are Simple With a Little Practice
Easier than tennis, and so much fun.
Watch this video for a simple explanation on how to play a point in pickleball.
Where to serve
Like tennis the ball must be served diagonally into the opposing teams service court.
How to serve and the double bounce rule
To begin the point the serve must be hit underhand below the waist and out of the air. The ball must bounce on both the serve and return (once on each side) before any volleys can be hit. So the ball must bounce twice. This is called the double bounce rule.
The no volley zone (aka the “kitchen”)
After the ball bounces twice you can move to the net and volley. However you are not allowed to volley if any part of your body is touching the “kitchen” (the non-volley zone).
You are allowed to enter the kitchen to hit a ball, but only if it bounces first. Keep in mind that even if you volley behind the no volley zone line, but your momentum carries you forward into the kitchen it is considered a fault and you lose the point.
How to keep score.
Pickleball games can be played to any number, but they are most commonly played to 11. You must win by a margin of 2 points. Watch this short video on how to keep score in singles and doubles. If it’s confusing, it won’t be after you play a few games!
Doubles
The first player starts the game by serving on the right side. They call the score as 0-0-2. The first 0 is the serving teams score. The second 0 is the receiving teams score. The 2 is the servers number. The server continues to serve until their team commits a fault. Now it’s the first sideout which means the serve now goes to the other team.
The first server will once again serve on the right side and say the score (0-1-1 for example). This time the third number is a 1 instead of a 2 because they are the first server of their team. This team continues to serve until the player loses their serve and then the serve goes to their partner. Now let’s say the score is 2-1-2. The 3rd number is now a 2 because the second player in the team is serving. Once the serving team commits a fault it is once again a sideout and the other team serves.
Singles
In singles the scoring is even simpler. Play once again starts on the right side. If the servers score is an even number you serve from the right side. It it’s odd you serve from the left side. Like doubles you can only accumulate points when you are serving. When you lose the point on your serve the ball goes to the opponent.