Basic Rules of Pickleball: What You Need to Know Before Your First Game
Games are played to 11 points, win by 2. In traditional scoring, only the serving side can score a point, so you'll hear scores called as three numbers, like "4-2-1." Rally scoring versions exist where either side can score on any point, and you'll increasingly run into both formats, so ask before you start.
Serving
Serves are underhand, hit below your waist, and must land in the diagonal service box on the other side of the court, same as tennis. You get one serve attempt, no second serve. In doubles, each player on the serving team gets a chance to serve before the serve passes to the other team, except at the very start of the game, when only one player serves before the first side-out. This trips up almost everyone their first time out. Don't worry about memorizing the rotation perfectly on day one, just follow whoever's been playing longer.
The two-bounce rule
After the serve, the receiving team must let the ball bounce once before returning it. Then the serving team must also let that return bounce once before hitting it back. After those two bounces, either side can volley the ball out of the air. This rule exists to stop the serving team from rushing the net and smashing the return immediately, and it's what gives pickleball its slower, more tactical rhythm at the start of every point.
The kitchen and the non-volley zone
The kitchen is the 7-foot zone on each side of the net. You cannot volley the ball, meaning hit it out of the air, while any part of your body is touching that zone, including your paddle or your momentum carrying you in after the shot. You can step into the kitchen to hit a ball that's already bounced. This is the rule that trips up every single beginner at least once. If you're not sure whether you were in the kitchen on a volley, you probably were.
Common faults
- Hitting the ball out of bounds or into the net
- Volleying while touching the kitchen (even a toe counts)
- Serving into the net or outside the correct service box
- Letting the ball bounce twice on your side before returning it
- Touching the net with your body or paddle during a point
A fault ends the point immediately and either costs you the serve or gives the other team a point, depending on your scoring format.
What actually trips people up in their first few games
Kitchen violations, easily. People get excited, take a big swing at a ball near the net, and their momentum carries their foot into the zone. Second most common is not letting the two bounces happen and volleying too early. Both fix themselves within a couple of games once your body learns the rhythm. Nobody plays a mistake-free first session, so don't stress about it.