Pickleball Rules
- Players
- 2 (singles) or 4 (doubles)
- Ages
- 8+
- Setup time
- 10-15 min
- Space
- 20 x 44 ft court, about the size of a doubles badminton court
What you need
- A net set 36 in high at the sidelines and 34 in at the center
- Two or four pickleball paddles
- A perforated plastic pickleball (outdoor balls have smaller, harder holes)
- A flat 20 x 44 ft surface (driveway, sport court, or smooth patio)
- Optional: chalk or tape to mark the kitchen and baseline
Set it up
A pickleball court is 20 ft wide by 44 ft long, the same footprint as a doubles badminton court. The net is 36 in high at the sidelines and 34 in at the center. The kitchen (non-volley zone) extends 7 ft back from the net on each side, and the centerline splits each side into two service courts.
Scoring
- Traditional side-out scoring: only the serving side scores a point. A receiving-side rally win makes the current server lose service.
- In doubles, both partners normally serve before a side-out. The first service sequence of the game has only one server.
- Play to 11, win by two; agree any 15- or 21-point alternative before play.
- Call three numbers in doubles: serving score, receiving score, server number. Singles uses only the two scores.
How to play
- Set up the court and net. Mark a 20 ft wide by 44 ft long court. The net is 36 in high at the sidelines and dips to 34 in at the center. A 7 ft non-volley zone (the kitchen) sits on each side of the net.
- Serve underhand and diagonal. From behind the baseline, serve diagonally into the opposite service court beyond the kitchen line. On a volley serve, contact is below the waist with an upward arm motion. A legal drop serve is also allowed. You get one attempt.
- Honor the double-bounce rule. After the serve, the receiving side must let it bounce once before returning, and the serving side must let that return bounce once too. Only after those two bounces can players volley.
- Stay out of the kitchen on volleys. Do not volley while touching the kitchen or its line, or let volley momentum carry you into it, even after the ball is dead. You may enter to play a bounced ball; reestablish both feet outside before a later volley.
- Rally until a fault. Keep the ball in play over the net and inbounds. A fault happens when the ball goes out, lands in the net, bounces twice, or someone volleys from the kitchen.
- Score only on your serve. This format uses traditional side-out scoring: only the serving side scores. In doubles, losing a serving rally usually passes service to the partner, then to the opponents after the second server loses. The opening team has only one server.