What are the rules of pickleball?

Pickleball is a paddle sport played with a special perforated ball on a small court with a tennis-type net (Section 1 of the USA Pickleball rulebook). Here's the whole game in six rules:

1. The court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long for both singles and doubles (rule 3.A.1). The net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches in the middle (3.B.6, 3.B.7).
2. You serve diagonally into the opposite service court, and the ball must clear the kitchen.
3. Two-bounce rule. The serve must bounce before it is returned, and the return must bounce before the serving side hits it (rule 10.A). After that, you can volley.
4. The kitchen. The 7-foot zone on each side of the net, the non-volley zone, is a no-volley area (Section 11).
5. A rally ends with a fault, such as hitting the ball out, into the net, or after a double bounce.
6. Only the serving side scores, normally to 11 and win by 2. The pickleball scoring guide covers points, server 1 and 2, and rally scoring, so this page doesn't repeat them.

You hit the ball with a solid paddle. The rulebook limits the paddle's length to 17 inches, and its length plus width to 24 inches, with no limit on thickness or weight (3.D.2, 3.D.3). The ball is a perforated ball approved by USA Pickleball, and any approved ball can be used indoors or outdoors (3.C.1).

Who can call a fault?

Pickleball relies on honest self-calling. Players call faults on themselves and their partner as soon as they happen. Opponents can only call two things on you: non-volley zone faults and foot faults on the serve (rule 9.B.3). For anything else, they can mention it after the rally, but the final decision belongs to the player who allegedly committed the fault (9.B.4). If two teams disagree about a kitchen or foot fault, the rally is replayed (9.B.3.b).

If you have no referee, play like the rulebook's guiding idea: every doubtful line call goes to the opponent (rule 8.D).

Serve diagonally across the net into the opposite service court, and clear the kitchen. The served ball must clear the opponent's non-volley zone, with or without touching the net, and land in the correct service court (rule 7.E). A serve that touches the net and drops in is good: there is no let serve to replay. A serve that lands on the kitchen line is out (rule 8.C).

You may use either of two serving motions:

The drop serve has fewer technique rules, which is why many beginners start with it. Either can be forehand or backhand.

Where do your feet go?

At the moment you hit the serve:

• At least one foot must be on the ground inside the correct serving area, the part behind the baseline between the sideline and the centerline (rules 7.A.1, 7.A.3).
• Neither foot may touch the court, including the baseline (7.A.2).
• Neither foot may touch the ground outside your serving area (7.A.3).

Break any of those and it's a foot fault, which the opponent can call (9.B.3).

Ball release and timing

Release the ball with one hand or the paddle, with no manipulation or spin added. The rulebook allows some "natural rotation" and lets the ball roll off the paddle by gravity (7.B.2). The receiver must be able to see the release, and may ask for a replay before returning the serve if they can't (7.B.3.a). The server must serve within 10 seconds after the score call is finished (6.D), and the whole score must be called before the serve is hit (6.C). A served ball that hits the server, their partner or a permanent object is a fault (7.E.3, 7.E.4).

The serve and the return of serve must each bounce before being hit. Rule 10.A says it plainly: "The serve and the return of serve must each bounce before being returned."

In order:

1. The server serves.
2. The receiver lets the serve bounce, then returns it.
3. The server's side lets that return bounce, then hits it.
4. After that, both sides may volley (hit the ball out of the air) or play it off the bounce.

It's a fault if the receiver volleys the serve (rule 10.A.1), and it's a fault if the serving side volleys the return (10.A.2). In effect, neither side can end the rally with a volley on the first two shots.

This is why the serving side's first shot after the return, often called the third shot, is played off a bounce.

Beyond the two-bounce start, a player must return the ball before it bounces twice on their side (rule 10.B). A ball can touch the net and still be in play (13.A). A returned ball that lands on the opponent's side is in, including the lines. Any questionable call goes to the opponent: a player can only call a ball out when they can clearly see a space between the line and the ball (8.E).

The kitchen is the non-volley zone: the 7 by 20 foot area next to the net on each side, and the lines that mark it are part of the zone (rule 3.A.4.c). The key rule: you may not volley the ball while you are touching the kitchen. A volley is any strike before the ball bounces. The full rule (11.A) says that "A player, or anything in contact with the player, may contact the non-volley zone at any time except during the act of volleying a ball."

Can you step in the kitchen?

Yes, with conditions. You may stand in the kitchen at any time when you're not volleying. You can walk in to hit a ball that has already bounced there, such as a dink that lands in the zone. What you can't do is:

• Volley while touching the zone or its lines (11.A.1). This includes your paddle, clothing or anything in contact with you. It also covers your partner: if your partner is touching the zone while you volley, it's a fault.
• Let your momentum carry you in. The momentum fault (11.A.2) applies when a volleying player's momentum makes them contact the zone, or anything in contact with it, including their partner, even after the ball becomes dead. The act of volleying only ends when your forward movement stops, so a smash that drags you across the line is a fault, even if the point is already won.
• Volley before leaving. If you were in the kitchen, both feet must touch the playing surface fully outside the zone before you volley (11.A.3).

What does that look like in a rally?

Players standing on the kitchen line have to hit volleys from behind it. They can step into the kitchen to play a ball that has bounced there (a short dink, for example), but must be fully out of it again before their next volley.

Who calls it?

Only the opponent may call a kitchen fault (rule 9.B.3). If you think you touched the zone, call it on yourself. If you and your opponents disagree, the rally is replayed (9.B.3.b).

A kitchen fault ends the rally and loses it for the player who committed it. Serving into the kitchen is also a fault (7.E.2).

A fault is a rule violation that ends the rally and loses it for the player or side who committed it. The rulebook defines it as "A rules violation that results in a dead ball and the loss of a rally" (Section 2). The faults you will meet most often:

Some things are not faults. A missed shot where you don't touch the ball leaves it live (10.E). A ball that touches the net, or the cable at the top, stays in play (13.A). A ball may be returned around the outside of the net post (13.C). And a hinder, such as a stray ball rolling onto the court, isn't a fault. Any player can call it and the rally is replayed (9.C).

What happens if the ball hits the line?

A returned ball that lands on a line is in. A served ball that lands on the kitchen line is out (rule 8.C), because the kitchen line belongs to the zone. Calls must be quick: an "out" call has to be made before the opponent hits the ball or before it goes dead (8.F.3).

Only the serve and the return of serve have set positions. Once the receiver has hit the return, you can stand anywhere, on or off the court, as long as you stay on your own side of the net (rule 5.B.4).

At the serve, positions follow the score:

• Serving side. The server stands in the right-hand serving area when their team's score is even (0, 2, 4...) and the left when it is odd. After each point they win, the server crosses to the other side and their partner does as well (rules 5.B.3, 5.B.5).
• Receiving side. The receiver stands diagonally opposite the server, in the service court on the other side of the net. The receiving team's players stay in their courts while the other side serves.
• Who returns the serve? Only the correct receiver may return it. If their partner hits it, it's a fault, even if the rally is finished (5.C.1.c). It must be called before the next serve.

The two players on a team swap sides only when the serving side wins a point. The receivers stay put, so a receiving player remains in the same court for the whole of the opponent's service turn.

What if players start in the wrong place?

If a player or position error is found, any player may stop the rally. If the claim is correct (for example, the wrong receiver is standing there), the rally is replayed (5.C.1.a). If the claim is wrong, it's a fault against the player who stopped the rally (5.C.1.b). If the mistake is only noticed after the rally, the result stands (5.C.2).

Is stacking allowed?

"Stacking" is lining up so each partner stays on their preferred side. The rules above apply only at the serve and return, so after that you can move wherever you want. This page doesn't go into strategy; beginner groups rarely need it.

Yes. Pickleball can be played as singles, and the rulebook says so in its first section. Singles uses the full 20 by 44 foot court with the same lines as doubles (rule 3.A.1). The differences:

• One server per side. A singles server serves from the right when their score is even, and the left when odd. They keep serving until they lose a rally (5.A).
• The two-bounce rule, kitchen and faults are the same as doubles.
• The call has two numbers, not three (6.B.1).

The full court is a lot to cover alone, which is why the rulebook includes mini-singles (14.B). Mini-singles is played on a standard pickleball court, but only the right or left half of each end is in play at one time, depending on each player's score. An extra line must run the centerline through each kitchen. The server and receiver positions follow their own scores, and every ball must land in the in-play half (14.B.1, 14.B.2, 14.B.3). It suits two beginners who don't want to cover the full court.

Three players don't have a standard format. The rulebook defines singles and doubles only. Many groups play a rotating game where players take turns, but you should agree on the house rules first. For four, five or more players who want fair court time, the pickleball rotation generator builds the schedule, and the round robin guide compares the formats.

What changed in the 2026 pickleball rules?

PlayPickleball's summary of the 2026 rulebook lists a ban on adding spin with the fingers as you release the serve, a stricter reading of "clearly" for the volley serve, and a change to rally-scoring game point. The serve rules are covered in how to serve, and the game-point change in the scoring guide.

Pickleball is live on Flobit, in the iPhone app (version 1.0.4 or later) and on Apple Watch. Flobit helps you with scoring and organizing, not refereeing. It scores singles or doubles point by point with undo, offers side-out and rally scoring, and shows a serve tracker (a call such as "0-0-2") on the scorer's iPhone or Apple Watch.

Flobit doesn't track kitchen faults or foot faults, and it doesn't call faults for you. Those stay with the players, as the rulebook says. The app isn't a rulebook either. This page and the rulebook it cites are.

If you want a place to set up pickleball games, the pickleball page explains what Flobit does for the sport, and the padel versus pickleball guide compares the two sports for racket players deciding between them.

Can you step in the kitchen in pickleball?

What is the momentum rule in the pickleball kitchen?

Is a pickleball serve that touches the net and lands in good?

What is the two-bounce rule in pickleball?

Can you serve overhand in pickleball?

Is a pickleball that lands on the line in or out?

Can you play pickleball with two people?

Does Flobit have pickleball?