Pickleball

How To Play Pickleball

Picklers sometimes describe their sport as a mash-up of tennis, badminton and ping pong - and it’s just as fun as that sounds. Pickleball enthusiasts also like to say it’s an easy sport for beginners to get the hang of and can be extremely addictive: once a pickler, always a pickler.

But before you step on the pickleball court for the first time, you’ll want to know the rules, and how to play this game, whether it’s singles or doubles. Read our guide and before long you’ll be pickling like the best of them.

What are the dimension of a pickleball court?

If you’ve ever played badminton before, you’ll probably feel at home on a pickleball court. It’s a badminton-sized rectangle, with a width of 20 feet (6.1 meters) and a length of 44 feet (13.41 meters) Whether you’re playing singles or doubles – and doubles is more common - the court is always the same size. The non-volley zone is near the net and is 7 feet long by 22 ft wide.

How high is the pickleball net?

The net isn’t the same height all the way across, as there’s a slightly dip in the middle, like a tennis net. It should be 36 inches (91.4 centimeters) high at either end, and a touch lower in the middle, at 34 inches (86.4 centimeters).

What are the five basic rules of pickleball?

If you're looking for a simple explanation of how to play pickleball, here are five rules.

The ball must land in the court.
The ball can only bounce once.
You serve from the baseline.
The serve mustn't land in the non-volley zone close to the net.
You usually play up to 11 points.

That’s the five, though there’s obviously a bit more to pickleball than that, so read on for more details on how to play.

What's the double bounce rule in pickleball?

The returning player or team must allow the serve to bounce before hitting it, and the serving player or team must then allow the return to bounce before playing it. After those two bounces – one on either side of the net - you're free to play the ball after it has bounced or to hit it in the air with a volley.

Are they any other rules about volleying in pickleball?

Be careful where you’re standing when you hit a volley. If you’re too close to the net, in the non-volley zone, a part of the court that picklers call “The Kitchen”, you’ll automatically lose the rally. That’s not to say you can’t ever step foot in that zone to hit a shot – it’s perfectly fine to go inside to play a ball that has already bounced.

What are the rules for serving? Is a drop serve now allowed?

You must always serve underarm. The rules about serving were recently relaxed. You used to have to hit the ball before it bounces, with the paddle making contact with the ball below waist height, and you can still do that.

But, and you might find this easier when you’re a beginner and learning the game, you now also have the option of a drop serve. As the name suggests, you can drop the ball from any height, letting it bounce before hitting it. What you can’t do is throw or toss the ball; it can only be dropped.

However you prefer to serve, make sure both feet are behind the baseline when you hit the ball as otherwise it’s a fault, and you only get one serve in pickleball (there’s no second chance, such as in tennis).

Where does the ball have to land?

Every serve must be diagonal or cross-court. The first time you serve, you do so on the right side of the court, hitting the ball diagonally opposite. The ball has to clear the net, and also bounce beyond the non-volley zone close to the net before landing in the service court.

If it hits the line for the non-volley zone, that counts as out. Your next serve will be from the left, again serving at the side of the court diagonally opposite. Alternate between the left and the right.

What happens if the serve hits the net?

The rule on this has recently changed. If the serve hits the net and lands in the correct part of the court, it's no longer a “let” and needs to be replayed but is now considered a legitimate serve. The ball is live.

Is a shot in if it lands on the line?

Yes, though as have already seen there’s the exception of a serve that bounces on the line for the non-volley zone, which is out.

How many points do you play to in pickleball?

You usually play up to eleven points, though in some tournaments the scoring can be first to 15 or even 21. You must be ahead by at least two points; play will continue until one player or team has that margin. Matches tend to be the best of three games.

When can you score points?

You can only score points when you or your team are serving. The first server in a team continues serving until the team makes a mistake or fault, and then the second server in the team serves until the team makes a mistake. That’s when the opposing team gets to serve. However, right at the start of a doubles game, the rules are slightly different as only one player on a team gets the opportunity to serve before it switches to the other team after a fault.

How do you call the score in pickleball?

Say the server’s score first, then the receiver’s score and if you’re playing doubles, you then say either one or two depending on which server is starting the point.