Pickleball
This guide follows the supplied 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, Global Pickleball Federation edition. Its standard rules cover singles and doubles; tournament and adaptive sections add specific modifications.
Rules
Pickleball rules
This guide follows the supplied 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, Global Pickleball Federation edition. Its standard rules cover singles and doubles; tournament and adaptive sections add specific modifications.
Court and net
Singles and doubles use the same court: 6.10 m wide and 13.41 m long. The non-volley zone extends 2.13 m from the net on each side; its boundary lines belong to that zone.
Ball and paddle
The ball is perforated and must meet the approved equipment specifications. A paddle has a rigid striking surface rather than strings; sanctioned play requires an approved model.
Scoring and winning
In standard scoring, only the serving player or team scores by winning a rally. A typical game is to 11 points with a two-point winning margin; tournament formats may specify other targets.
Singles positions
In standard singles, serve from the right when the server's score is zero or even and from the left when it is odd. Serve into the diagonally opposite service court.
Doubles serving order
In standard doubles, both partners normally serve before service passes to the opponents. At the start of a game, however, the opening team has only one server; the starting call is 0–0–2.
Readiness and calling the score
Call the complete score before serving, then serve within 10 seconds. Standard singles calls server score then receiver score; standard doubles adds the server number as the third number.
The volley serve
For a serve struck before the ball bounces, the paddle must move upward at contact. Its highest point must not be above the wrist joint, and contact must not be above waist height.
The drop serve
The drop serve is struck after the ball bounces. Release it from a natural, unaided height without propelling it upward, downward or sideways. The volley serve's wrist, upward-arc and waist restrictions do not govern this method.
The two-bounce rule
The receiver must let the serve bounce before returning it. The serving side must then let that return bounce before playing its first shot. A volley on either of those first two returns loses the rally.
The kitchen and volleys
A volley must start outside the non-volley zone, often called the kitchen. Contact with its lines also counts as contact with the zone. A player may enter the zone to play a ball that has bounced.
Line calls
Players call their own end's lines and give opponents the benefit of doubt. A ball touching an ordinary boundary line is in; a serve touching the non-volley-zone line is out.
Faults and interruptions
A fault ends the rally. Typical examples include hitting out, allowing too many bounces, volleying the serve or its return, and prohibited contact with the ball or net. Players should call their own faults.
Playing near the net
A returned ball may pass around the outside of a net post and land legally. It must not go under the net or through the gap between net and post. A player must generally wait until the ball has fully crossed before striking it.
Paddle contact during a rally
Use and carry only one paddle during a rally, and keep possession of it when striking the ball. Either hand or both hands may hold it. Catching or carrying the ball on the paddle is a fault.
Tournament formats
Tournament rules supplement standard play. Standard-scoring options include best of three or five games to 11, or a single game to 15 or 21; all require a two-point margin. Some round-robin events may use one game to 11.
Breaks and conduct
In tournaments, each singles player or doubles team receives two standard time-outs per game to 11 or 15, and three per game to 21. Each lasts at most one minute and must be requested before the serve is hit.
Wheelchair and adaptive play
Wheelchair players may return the ball after two bounces, with the first in bounds and the second anywhere on the playing surface. They must return it before a third bounce. Wheelchair service and non-volley-zone contact have specific wheel-based requirements.
This guide follows the supplied 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, Global Pickleball Federation edition. Its standard rules cover singles and doubles; tournament and adaptive sections add specific modifications.