Rules of Pickleball: Awesome Tips To Elevate Your Game in 2024

A deep understanding of the rules of pickleball is the first step to learning how to play pickleball. Pickleball rules are easy to understand and simple. To move forward in pickleball, You have to understand the rules in depth and with clarity.

What are the Rules?

A set of rules is a guideline for the conduct, explaining how to move on with your next course of action. A game is based on its rules and tells us how it is played. To play pickleball, we will look at pickleball rules summary of its true spirit. It can be played as doubles as well as singles. Generally, the rules of pickleball singles and doubles are very similar, but there are a few key differences.

Pickleball Rules pdf

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What Are the 10 Rules of Pickleball?

1. The serve must be underhand and bounce into the opponent’s court diagonally.
2. The serving side only scores points, and it happens when the opponent pickler’s faults (fails in returning the ball or hits the ball beyond the court or on the net)
3. As long as the server doesn’t make any fault, he keeps serving on the opposite side of the court.
4. The first team scores 11 points and wins, leading by a minimum margin of 2 points. If the match is tied, the game continues until one side gains by securing 2 points.
5. After service, each side should make at least one ground-stroke on ground before hitting the ball (volleying it before it has bounced).
6. The non-volley zone(NVZ), also known as the kitchen, is the only place where a pickler cannot volley a ball.
7. The server’s arm must move upward when the ball is struck. 
8. Contact between the ball and the paddle should not exceed waist level.
9. The server must start his serve at least one foot behind the baseline, and neither your foot touches the baseline or court until you volley the ball.
10. The serve is directed to the diagonally opposite side of the court and must land on the opposite diagonal court.
11. A single serving attempt is allowed per serving player.

The Serving Sequence

• In the pickleball serving rules doubles game, each team member must serve until they commit a fault (except for the first serving sequence of each new game).
• The first serve on each side-out is made of the right side/ even court.
• If the server gets the point, he changes sides and starts the next serve from the left/odd court.
•  As he successfully gets points, the server continues to change his position back and forth until he does a fault, and the first server loses the serve.

• Whereas, in the rules of the pickleball singles game, the server switches between serving from the right and left sides of the court based on their current score. If their score is an even number, they will serve from the right side, and if the score is odd, they will serve from the left.

• When the first server loses his serving, his partner serves on the correct side of the field (except for the first service sequence of the game*).
•  The second-serving player continues his serve until his team does a fault and loses the service to the opponent team.
•  The initial serve is made from the right-hand side or even side, and both players on that team have a chance to serve and score points up until their team commits two errors. This happens after the serving player crosses over to the opponent’s side of the court.
• * Every time a pickleball game is started, only one partner from the serving team is allowed to serve up to a fault, at which point the service goes to the receiving team. 

Pickleball Scoring Rules

• Only the serving team may score.
•  A game is worth 11 points; winning is achieved with 2.
•  Typically, tournament games are played to 15 or 21 points, and you must prevail by 2 points.
•  When the team whose score is even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10), the player, who is also the first player to perform service, will be on the right or even side of the court. A player will be on the left or odd side of the court when the serving team scores odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9).

Double-Bounce Rule

• The opponent team must let it bounce on the ground when the ball is served before returning it, and then the serving team who does serve must let it bounce before returning.
• After the ball bounces once in each team’s court, both teams may hit it (volley the pickleball before it bounces) or play it off of the bounce (ground stroke).
• The double-bounce rule ends the chance service and volley advantage and extends rallies.

Non-Volley Zone  

•  The non-volley zone(NVZ) consists of the 7 feet of the court area on both sides of the net.
•  Volley is not allowed within the non-volley zone(NVZ). This rule doesn’t allow players to execute smashes from a position within this zone.
•  It is considered a fault when your momentum takes you into the non-volley zone (NVZ)or causes you to touch the line after a volley.
•  When a player is stepped in by momentum after volleying Or touches the kitchen area, even if the hit ball is considered dead before this happens. It is also known as a fault.
•  A player may legally be stepped in the non-volley zone(kitchen) any other time he is not volleying the ball. · The non-volley zoneNVZ) the area is also known as “the kitchen.”  The non-volley zone area is also known as “the kitchen.”

Line Calls

• If a ball touches any line, except the non-volley zone(NVZ, the kitchen line on a serve, is thought “in.”
• If a serve touches, the non-volley zone(NVZ) line is short and considered a fault.

Faults

A fault is considered when:

• If the service stays within the receiving court.
• The ball hits into the net during the serving or return.
• The ball is hit before bouncing on each side.
• The ball is volleyed out of line.
• The ball is volleyed from the kitchen.
• If the ball bounces twice before being volleying by the receiver
• The player, his clothing, or any part of his paddle makes contact with the net and the net post when the ball is being played.

• A fault is any action/movement that stops the game because of a rule violation.
• If a ball during play touches a player’s body or anything else he is wearing or carrying.
• In the play, if the ball hits any permanent object before bouncing on the ground.

Determining Serving Team

By coin tossing, the first service is determined. The toss winner will have the option to select a side, serve, or receive.

Final Words

In this article, we’ve learned what is pickleball. Pickleball rules are an important topic. You must read this article for a deep understanding of the rules of this popular sport. Because deep insight will be beneficial for beginners as well as seasoned players. When confusion arises during the game, seek guidance from USA Pickleball.

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