Pickleball Rules

1. The Basics
Pickleball is played on a court similar to badminton, using paddles and a perforated plastic ball. Matches can be played as singles or doubles, and the non-volley zone at the net plays a key role in the game.

2. The Serve
The serve must be underhand and hit diagonally into the opponent’s service court. The ball must clear the non-volley zone (“the kitchen”) and land in bounds to be valid.

3. The 3-2-1 Score
Scoring calls in doubles use three numbers: your team’s score, the opponent’s score, and whether you are the first or second server on your team.

4. The Double Bounce Rule
After the serve, each team must let the ball bounce once before hitting it. After these two bounces, volleys are allowed from behind the non-volley zone.

5. The Kitchen Rule
Players may not volley the ball while standing inside the non-volley zone (the kitchen). You may only volley when both feet are outside the zone.

6. Scoring
Only the serving team can score points. Games are typically played to 11 points and must be won by at least a 2-point margin.

7. Faults
Faults occur when the ball lands out of bounds, hits the net, is volleyed from inside the kitchen, or when a team fails to follow the double bounce rule.

8. Winning the Game
A team wins when it reaches 11 points and leads by at least 2 points. Competitive formats may use higher target scores, depending on the event or tournament.

9. Rally Scoring
In rally scoring a point is awarded on every rally, no matter which team served. Players stay in their fixed positions for the entire game: one player remains on the right side and the other on the left. The team that wins the rally serves the next point.

Rally scoring without freeze
All points count from start to finish. The team that wins the rally gains the point and continues serving. Within a team, the server rotates between the two players, but players do not switch sides. The game ends when the target score is reached with the required margin.

Rally scoring with freeze
In freeze mode rally scoring applies until the freeze point is reached. After that, a team must be serving to score the final winning point. Players remain in their fixed left and right positions throughout the entire game.