Pickleball Rules: A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Learn the Game

Here’s a quick, broken-down summary of pickleball rules:

1. Court Setup:
   • The court is 20×44 feet (same size as a doubles badminton court).
   • The net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches in the middle.
2. Serving:
   • Serve underhand, and the ball must be hit below the waist.
   • The serve is made diagonally, starting from the right-hand service square.
   • Only one serve attempt is allowed, except if the ball touches the net and lands in the correct service court (this is a “let” and can be reserved).
3. Double-Bounce Rule:
   • After the serve, each side must let the ball bounce once before hitting it. After that, the ball can be volleyed (hit without a bounce) or played off the bounce.
4. Scoring:
   • Only the serving team can score points.
   • Games are usually played to 11 points, and a team must win by 2 points.
5. Non-Volley Zone (“The Kitchen”):
   • The 7-foot area on either side of the net is the non-volley zone.
   • Players cannot hit the ball while standing in the kitchen unless the ball has bounced.
6. Faults:
   • Hitting the ball out of bounds.
   • Not clearing the net.
   • Volleying from the kitchen.

This simple breakdown gives you a quick overview of the core rules to start playing pickleball!