The Simple Guide to Pickleball Rules
Pickleball. You've heard of it. Heck, maybe you’ve even seen your neighbors slapping a neon ball back and forth with reckless abandon.
But if you’re here, I’m guessing you’re the one who’s still trying to figure out how pickles are involved. (Spoiler alert: they’re not … well kinda)
Fear not, young paddlewan! We’re gonna catch you up on the basic rules of pickleball and fill you with enough confidence to start banging your opponents (still nothing to do with pickles). Trust me, you’re going to look legit out there. Well … some of it will depend on you.
WTF is Pickleball?
Before we jump into rules, let's quickly define this modern-day spectacle.
Pickleball is like someone tossed tennis, ping-pong, and badminton into a blender and hit "sportify."
The result? A fast-paced, and highly addictive game played on a badminton-sized court with a perforated plastic ball (think whiffle ball but more ambitious) and paddles that look like they were made by toddlers who recently discovered geometry.
It’s social, it’s sweaty, and it’s sweeping the world faster than a new TikTok dance trend. If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out on a game that’s simple enough for beginners but still fierce enough to ruin family reunions.
What about the pickle?
Ok, so legend has it that the game's inventor had a dog named Pickles who’d fetch stray balls during play. Whether that’s true or not, it’s a rather lame story and useless piece of knowledge that might buy you a bit of court cred in a time of need.
The (mostly) jargon-free official rules of Pickleball
If you’re looking to add complexity into your life, it’s best we part ways here. Pickleball is game described as “quick to learn, but difficult to master”. Let’s talk about the “quick” part.
The rules are simple enough to remember after your third bloody mary (with a pickle for garnish of course):
1. The Court
Picture a tennis court, but squished. Got it? No? Ok, stay with me.
A pickleball court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long, with a 7-foot non-volley zone (we’ll talk about that in a minute) and two 10’ x 15’ side-by-side zones on each side of the net. Think cozy, not cramped. If you’re playing on your driveway, a few duct-tape lines will do in a pinch.
“Did you design the pickleball court?”
You …
Ah, you must have seen the patent design on my wall.
I mean, I don’t like to brag … so let’s just say, no comment.
2. The Serve
The serve in pickleball is underhanded, low-key, and unpretentious — kinda like your ideal drinking buddy.
Here’s how it works:
You must serve underhand (think softball pitch, not spiking a volleyball) and make contact with the ball below your waist. High-water shorts FTW.
Stand behind the baseline (it’s that line at the back of the court) and hit diagonally into the opponent’s service area.
You only get one chance. Mess up the serve? It’s officially time to hand over the ball and pretend they cheated.
Ok, so you actually do get another chance if you’re playing doubles. Both players get a chance to serve before handing it over.
Well … if you’re the first team to serve, only one person gets a chance when starting the game.
Pro tip: Serve for accuracy, not speed. I mean, a plastic ball filled with holes can only go travel so fast - thanks physics. The point being, the harder you hit the ball, the more likely it is to whack a tree or your opponent (which oddly wins you the point).
3. The Double Bounce Rule
At the risk of being called out for using jargon, let’s call this the “Two Bounce Rule”. Better? Good.
What this means is that once the ball is served, it must bounce once on each side of the net before players can hit the ball out of the air (also referred to as volleying).
Just to be clear, two equals one bounce on each side, not two bounces on two sides.
Why it’s not just called the “bounce rule” is a controversy for another day.
4. The Kitchen (a.k.a. The Non-Volley Zone)
Ah yes, the "kitchen." Voted the most likely term to be made into a pun in Pickleball.
The Kitchen is the 7-foot area closest to the net where the dinking occurs. Coincidentally the runner up for pun inclusion.
So, remember when we said that you could hit the ball out of the air after two bounces? Well, that’s true but only as long as you’re not standing in the kitchen. You see, the kitchen is the room with the white carpet that you’re not allowed to step in, and most certainly not allowed to eat in. But … if someone has already spilled their food on the floor, well then it’s free game.
Analogy aside, you are only allowed to step in the kitchen if the ball bounces there first. Now do you see?
Essentially, the kitchen rule gives each team a fighting chance. Without it, you could just plant yourself in the kitchen and spike the ball down every chance you get. It forces a little more athleticism, or what we like to call cardio.
5. Scoring
Unlike tennis, scoring is based on rational human thought … 1, 2, 3 and so forth. Games are usually played to 11 points, but you must win by 2. Games to 15 are also common for tournaments—or for when you don’t want to give up the court to the players waiting.
Oh, and just so you don’t look like fresh meat out there, there is something important you should know:
Remember when you learned that if you’re playing doubles, each player on the serving team gets a turn? Ok, so this means you’ll hear things like “4-3-1” and "4-3-2" which will give you mild anxiety unless you know why. And fortunately, it’s pretty simple.
The “1” and “2” at the end just indicate which turn the serving team is on. Easy peasy lemon squeezey.
6. Faults
While faults may not be something you’ve had to deal with as a human, you’ll more than make up for that in pickleball. Faults sound bad, and frankly, it is — it’s basically code for “you messed up." The good news is that you’re not alone - even the seasoned pros have faults (even as humans unlike you).
Just so we don’t get too far off track here, let’s play a game called human fault or pickleball fault.
Ready, set, begin:
Hitting the ball into the net or out of bounds. Correct! That’s a Pickleball fault. You’re doing very good.
Hitting the ball before it hits the ground while standing in the kitchen. Yes, that’s a fault in Pickleball, but both answers were acceptable here.
Wearing Crocs while playing Pickleball. Pretty much the dictionary definition of a human fault.
Falling into the kitchen after hitting the ball out of the air. It’s a tricky one, but it’s indeed a Pickleball Fault. Remember the white carpet.
Ok, last one …Tapping the handle of your paddle to the face of another paddle when exchanging pleasantries. If you like limp fish your handshakes, then your fault begins there. But yeah, it’s creepy so just don’t.
Why Pickleball Rules Exist
Well, pickleball rules, so you need rules to keep it that way. With players ranging from 10 years old to over 90, you can’t have a lawless community of people smashing whiffle balls at each other without mercy.
While the rules are in place to level the playing field, don’t sleep on the infants and great grand parents - they can get nasty real quick.
Bonus: WTF is a dink?
In life, it’s something you don’t want to be called. In pickleball, it’s an artful style of softly hitting the ball into the opponents kitchen.
In summary, hitting a ball in someone’s home kitchen … you’re a dink. What you DON’T want to be.
Hitting a ball in your opponent’s pickleball kitchen … you’re a dinker. What you WANT to be.
