Pickleball / Topic 11
The kitchen and volleys
USA Pickleball / GPF · 2026In short
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.
The rule
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.
In practice
During a volley, neither the player nor anything touching them may contact the zone. Momentum can cause a fault even after the ball is dead. After entering the zone, both feet must touch fully outside it before another volley.
Independent explanations and translations, not official federation publications. 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.
Sources & approach ↗
Sources & approach ↗