Pickleball Rules for Beginners: Scoring, the Kitchen and the Two-Bounce Rule
Pickleball is easy to start and hard to put down. You can learn enough to play a real game in about fifteen minutes. These are the rules that matter most on your first night.
The court
A pickleball court is 20 by 44 feet, the same size for singles and doubles. The net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches at the centre. The area within 7 feet of the net on both sides is the non-volley zone, better known as the kitchen.
The serve
- Serve underhand, with the paddle below your waist when you hit the ball.
- Serve diagonally, into the opposite service box.
- Keep both feet behind the baseline when you serve.
- The serve must clear the kitchen, including its line.
The two-bounce rule
After the serve, the ball must bounce once on each side before anyone can hit it in the air. The receiving team lets the serve bounce, and the serving team lets the return bounce. After those two bounces, you can volley (hit it before it bounces) or let it bounce.
The kitchen
You cannot volley while standing in the kitchen or touching its line. You can step in to play a ball that has bounced, but you have to step back out before you volley again. This one rule is what makes pickleball a game of soft touch at the net instead of hard smashes.
Scoring in doubles
- Only the serving team can score a point.
- Games are usually played to 11, and you must win by 2.
- Each player on the serving team serves before the serve passes to the other side, except at the very start of the game, where only one player serves.
- The score is called as three numbers: the server's score, the receiver's score, and whether this is the first or second server. The first serve of a game is called 0-0-2.
Faults
You lose the rally if you hit the ball out, into the net, volley from the kitchen, or break the two-bounce rule.
Where to play next
The easiest way to learn is at open play, where you rotate with players of different levels. Look for a club near you, check the schedule, and go. Most groups are happy to help a beginner through the first few games.