Pickleball Scoring Rules | Explore Now

Pickleball Scoring Rules

Do you know about pickleball scoring rules and how does scoring work in pickleball? In 1965, a new, simple, best-workout game played on a badminton court was invented called pickleball.

It’s a close resemblance to badminton, tennis, and ping-pong. As a beginner, the player should know how to keep score accurately. It’s said that learning how to score in pickleball is not as easy as how to play the game. But it’s not true sometimes; many players forget the score and are confused. Pickleball rules have significant importance, especially scoring rules.

This article will help you remember pickleball scoring rules in both doubles and singles. This article will guide the players in learning pickleball scoring rules.

Pickleball Scoring Rules

Pro Tip

Get to the kitchen, the non-volley zone as soon as you can. Doing so will cut down your opposite player’s shot angles and allows you to control the pace of the point.

Pickleball Scoring Rules

Pickleball Scoring Rules in Singles

Pickleball Singles rules of scoring are the same as in pickleball doubles but differ in only one point where there’s no second server. These are the key points to understand the singles scoring.

  • The serving player’s score is always even while the ball is served from the right side of the court and is done from the left side.
  • The serving player’s score determines the serving position of the serving player’s score; the opposite side, the receiving player, stands on the right or left side of the court.
  • Only the serving player scores a point, called the serving player’s score, the receiver score.
  • There are a few differences between singles pickleball and doubles pickleball in terms of player positioning. In singles pickleball, each player only receives one service, and there’s no place for a third number in the score since there’s no concept of server #1 or server #2. The score always shows in two numbers; the former will be the server’s score, and the latter will be the receiver’s score.
  • The serving player will always start to serve from the even /right side of the court. The serving will carry on the service if they win the point and change to serve on the other side of the court. The serving player will keep the service until he commits a fault; as a result, the opponent wins the rally and will serve from their side.
  • Players’ positioning plays a vital role in serving or return of the service, just like in doubles. The server must serve the ball accurately and diagonally from the correct side of the court. The score dictates the accuracy of the side of the pickleball court.
  • The side of the server depends upon the score of the server. If the serving player’s score is even, i.e. (0,2,4,6,8,10), the service should be from the even/right-hand side and served to the receiver’s right-hand side of the court.  The service should be even/left-hand side of the pickleball court if the playing player’s score is odd, i.e. (1,3,5,7,9), and served to the receiving player’s even/left-hand side of the pickleball court.
Pickleball Scoring Rules

Pickleball Scoring Rules in Doubles

In pickleball doubles rules, both teams will have two serves, one for each partner except the team that starts the game to serve. 

  • The serving team or the openers will get only one serve. That’s why, at the starting moment, the score is always 0-0-2-0 points for the team that serves, also called the first server, is 2, and the opposite team that receives the ball is 0. 
  • The first server begins diagonally from the right-hand side of the court to the right-hand side of the opposite team courtside. When the players that serve win a point, they can switch sides on the pickleball court, whereas the receivers can’t change the side. A point to remember that only the server can score points. If the serving players are not in their position or they commit faults, then, as a result, the service will shift to the opposite side. 
  • At that moment, the opposing team has won the rally, served that ball, and will carry on the serving until a fault is committed by them. As a result of any fault, the service hands over to the opponent team (the receivers) if both partners on a double team lose their service. 
  • In serving or returning the service, the position of the players has its significance. The position of the players must address. The serving team must volley the ball from the even/right side of the court diagonally, and the receiver must return the ball cross-court from the right side. 
  • The match’s score dictates the accuracy of the pickleball court. The serving team’s score selects the server’s side; if the serving team’s score is even, i.e. (0,2,4,6,8,10), the service must be from the right-hand side / even and served to the receiver’s right-hand side of the court.
  • In the same way, if the server’s score is odd, i.e. (1,3,5,7,9,11), then the service must be from the left side of the court and served to the receiving team on the left-hand side of the court. 
  • In addition, to understand the score in doubles, there’re three numbers, e.g., 0-0-2. The first number is the serving team’s score. The second is the receiving team’s score, whereas the third is for who served. It means it’s for the serving team.

For this reason, pickleball matches always start with a score of 0-0-2. Zero is for both teams whether they serve or receive, and 2 for the second serve. Remember one thing that game starts with the serving team having only one service in pickleball.

Conclusion

If anyone wants to learn and play pickleball effectively and impressively, he should have deep knowledge of pickleball scoring rules. Pickleball singles and doubles are both important format and every one should know its requirement. This article will help beginners to know pickleball scoring rules.

FAQs

Points can be secured only during the service; the receiving side can’t score a point. A player on the even side of the court serves to that player on the diagonally opposite side of the court at the start of the game. An odd court is served when a point is scored, and a diagonally opposite court is served when a point is scored.

11 points are required for winning the game. Only the serving team can secure and win points. When the opposite player does not return the ball or when the rally is won, points can be scored. There is a standard 11-point rule and the winning team wins by two points. 

Basics of Pickleball Scoring

When you play doubles pickleball, you score using three numbers (for instance, 0-0-2). The serving team’s score is represented by the first number. Secondly, the receiving team’s score is represented by the second number. Finally, there’s the serving player number, which either corresponds to server #1 or server #2.