Rules & Scoring
Court & Layout
A pickleball court measures 20 feet wide by 44 feet long for singles and doubles. The net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 in the centre. Each side has a 7-foot non-volley zone (“the Kitchen”), adding strategy and placement to play.
Equipment
Players use a paddle made of rigid, non-compressible material, and a plastic ball with 26–40 circular holes. Both paddles and balls must meet official USA Pickleball specifications to be approved for tournament play. Pickleball can be played indoors or outdoors, with slightly different ball designs for each surface.
Gameplay Essentials
Each rally starts with an underhand serve below the waist, hit diagonally. The Two-Bounce Rule requires the ball to bounce once per side before volleys. Only servers can score, games go to 11 (win by 2), and the non-volley zone promotes longer, more strategic rallies.
Serving & Scoring
Only the serving side can score points. The server continues serving until a fault is made, at which point the serve passes to the other team. Most games are played to 11 points, win by 2, though tournament formats may extend to 15 or 21 points.
The Two-Bounce Rule
A defining feature of pickleball is the Two-Bounce Rule: after the serve, the ball must bounce once on each side of the court before volleys are allowed. This simple rule reduces the advantage of powerful serves and encourages longer, more exciting rallies for players of all levels.
Safety & Etiquette
- Everyone should help with setting up and taking down the nets.
- Let the point finish before walking behind the court.
- Always shout ‘BALL ON COURT’ loud/clear & NEVER run onto the adjoining court to retrieve your ball; the players on that court will throw it back to you.
- Never walk behind players while they are playing; wait until they are between points and let them know you want to cross behind their court.
- Don’t take an extra ball or balls with you on the court. Only one can be used and strays should never be left lying on the other courts.
- Do not take extraneous materials (bags, bottles, towels) on the court or hang them on the net posts. These items create unsafe courts and impede visibility.
- Players should call lines on their side of the court.
- Serving team should score before serving.
- At the end of the game, touch paddles with your opponents to thank them for the game.
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