Pickleball rules, explained simply

The gist: pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court with a lowered net. You serve underhand and diagonally, both sides must let the ball bounce once before volleying, you cannot volley while standing in the seven-foot zone by the net, and games are usually played to 11, win by 2.

The court

A pickleball court is 20 by 44 feet — the same footprint as a doubles badminton court. The net is 36 inches at the posts and 34 inches in the middle. A line seven feet from the net on each side marks the non-volley zone, universally called "the kitchen." The court is split into left and right service boxes by a centre line running back from the kitchen to the baseline.

The serve

The serve is made underhand with contact below the waist, hit diagonally into the opponent's service box, and it must clear the kitchen and its line. You get one attempt — no second serve. A serve that clips the net and still lands in the correct box is played (under current rules). The serving team scores points; the receiving team cannot.

The double-bounce rule

After the serve, the receiving side must let it bounce before returning, and then the serving side must let that return bounce too. Only after those two bounces can either side volley — hit the ball out of the air. This one rule keeps rallies alive, stops big servers from serve-and-volleying, and is the reason both teams end up at the net playing the soft game.

The kitchen

You may not volley the ball while any part of your foot is touching the non-volley zone or its line. You can step in to play a ball that has bounced — you just cannot be in there when you hit a volley, and your momentum cannot carry you in afterwards either. Most beginner faults happen here; there is a full kitchen guide.

Scoring

Traditional scoring: only the serving side scores, games go to 11, win by 2. In doubles the score is called as three numbers — your score, their score, and which server you are (1 or 2). The serving and scoring guide walks through calling it correctly.

Common faults

• Serving into the net, into the kitchen, or outside the diagonal box.
• Volleying before both required bounces have happened.
• Stepping on the kitchen line while volleying, or being carried in by momentum.
• Hitting the ball out of bounds, or letting it bounce twice on your side.
• Hitting a ball before it crosses the net, or touching the net with paddle or body.

That is the entire game. Everything else — dinks, drops, stacking, poaching — is strategy built on top of these rules.