Pickleball RULES
Haven't quite grasped all the rules of pickleball yet? Or are you wondering: How do you play pickleball? Here you'll find all the rules summarized so you can get started with the sport today.
Generally
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Game modes: Doubles or Singles
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The same playing surface and rules are used for both singles and doubles.
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Only the servers score points.
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Any fair method can be used to determine which player or team has the choice of side, serve, or return. (Example: coin toss)
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Double Bounce Rule: The ball may only be taken directly out of the air from the third strike onwards. On the serve and first return, the ball must bounce.
counting method
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Points are only scored by the serving team.
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Games are normally played to 11 points, with a lead of 2 points required to win.
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The game score is displayed by three numbers: the score of the server, the receiver, and the number one or two of the server, e.g., 1-0-1
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If the serving team has an even score (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10), the player who was the first server for that team in the match is on the right/even side of the court when serving or receiving. If the score is odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9), that player is on the left/odd side of the court when serving or receiving.
Service process
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In doubles, both players on the serving team have the opportunity to serve and score points until they make a mistake (except for the first serve at the start of a new game, in which case only one partner on the serving team has the chance to serve before the serve goes to the opposing team. In doubles, the first serving team only has one serve, so the game starts 0-0-2. After that, each team gets two serves per turn).
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The first serve is always made from the right side of the court.
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When the serving team scores a point, the server switches sides and serves from the left side of the court.
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The server then always changes sides after each point scored, until a mistake is made and the serve changes.
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If the first server makes a mistake, the partner takes over the serve from their correct side of the court (except for the first serve of the game).
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The second server continues the game until their team makes a mistake and loses the serve to the opposing team.
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Doubles: When the serve changes, the new right to serve begins from the right side of the court and both players of the new serving team have the opportunity to serve and score points until they commit two errors.
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The serve is made from the right side of the court if the player's score is even, and from the left side if it is odd.
Serve
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Only one serve is allowed. However, if the serve goes over the net, it is repeated.
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The serve is diagonal
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Underhand serve , and the ball must not be hit above hip height.
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Both feet are behind the baseline.
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The racket face is below the wrist.
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The first serve is played from the right.
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The ball must land behind the non-volley zone.
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Throw hand with non-hitting hand
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Drop-serve is also allowed (the ball may be dropped from any height, but it may not be thrown or released with additional force to make it bounce higher).
Not a volley zone/ Kitchen
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The non-volley zone is the playing area within 2.13 meters (from the net) on both sides of the net.
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Volleys are prohibited within the non-volley zone. This rule prevents players from executing smashes from a position inside the zone.
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It is a fault if a player steps into the non-volley zone, including the line, while volleying and/or if the player's swing causes him or anything he is carrying or holding to touch the non-volley zone, including the associated lines.
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It is a fault if a player is carried into the non-volley zone by momentum after a volley or touches it.
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A player may be in the non-volley zone at any time (except when playing the volley).
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The non-volley zone is often referred to as "the kitchen".
mistake
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Error = Action that stops the game due to a rule violation
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Return fault -> point for the serving team; points can only be scored on one's own serves.
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A mistake by the serving team results in a loss of serve or (in doubles) a change of server. If the server also makes a mistake, the other team gets another chance to serve.