Pickleball rules and numbers, explained

The kitchen, the two-bounce rule, faults and serving, rule by rule.

• Guide

  Pickleball Rules for Beginners: Your First Game

  Serve underhand and diagonally. Let the serve bounce and let the return bounce. Don't volley from the kitchen, the 7-foot zone by the net. Only the serving side scores, games go to 11 (win by 2), and in doubles the score is called as three numbers.

• Rule

  Pickleball Kitchen Rule: The Non-Volley Zone Explained

  You can't volley (hit the ball before it bounces) while touching the kitchen, the 7-foot non-volley zone on each side of the net, or its line. You can stand in the kitchen any time to play a ball that has bounced. If a volley's momentum carries you into the kitchen, it's a fault even after the ball is dead.

• Rule

  Pickleball Serve Rules and the Two-Bounce Rule

  Serve diagonally, underhand, from behind the baseline, with one try. A volley serve must swing upward, with the paddle below your wrist and the ball below your waist; a drop serve lets the ball bounce first. Then the two-bounce rule. The serve must bounce before it's returned, and the return must bounce before the serving side hits it.

• Rule

  Pickleball Faults: The Full List in Plain English

  A fault ends the rally and costs the side that made it. The common ones are hitting out or into the net, a kitchen volley, volleying the serve or the return, letting the ball bounce twice, the ball hitting your body, touching the net, and a two-player double hit.

• Rule

  Pickleball Line Call Rules: Who Calls In and Out

  In rec play you call the lines on your own side of the net. A ball touching a line is in, except a serve on the kitchen line. If you can't clearly see space between the ball and the line, it's in. If you and your partner disagree, it's in.

• Explainer

  Pickleball Court Dimensions: Size, Kitchen and Lines

  A pickleball court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long, the same for singles and doubles. The non-volley zone (the kitchen) runs 7 feet back from the net on each side, leaving two service courts 10 feet wide and 15 feet deep on each side. Lines are 2 inches wide, and the net is 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches in the middle.

Pickleball words and open-play etiquette, for anyone new to the game.

• Explainer

  Pickleball Terms: Dink, Erne, ATP and More, Explained

  The words you'll hear most: the kitchen is the 7-foot non-volley zone by the net. A dink is a soft shot that lands in it. A third-shot drop is the serving team's soft shot to get to the net. An erne is a volley hit from outside the court beside the net, and an ATP is a shot hit around the net post instead of over the net. Both are legal.

• Guide

  Pickleball Open Play Etiquette: How to Join In

  Put your paddle in the rack or line and wait your turn; the next four up take the next free court. Say hello, mention your level, and ask what scoring the court uses. Call the score before every serve, call only the lines on your side, and if you're not sure a ball was out, it's in. When the game ends, tap paddles and head back to the rack.

How to call the score and who serves next.

• Calculator

  Pickleball Score Tracker: Who Serves and Which Side

  Tap the side that won each rally. The tracker calls the score the way you'd say it out loud ("4-2-1"), shows who serves next and from which side, and draws where all four players should stand.

• Explainer

  Pickleball Scoring: Who Serves and Which Side, Explained

  Only the serving side scores. In doubles the score is called as three numbers (your side's score, the other side's score, and server 1 or 2), and each side gets two serves before the serve goes over, except at the very start, which is why games open "0-0-2." Games are to 11, win by 2.

Round robins, ladders and leagues, with generators that do the scheduling.

• Calculator

  Pickleball Round Robin Generator (4–16 Players, Byes)

  Pick how many players and courts you have. The generator rotates partners so nobody plays with the same partner twice, spreads opponents, and shares out the sit-outs evenly. Print it, or copy the link to send the same schedule to the group.

• Explainer

  Pickleball Skill Levels and DUPR Ratings Explained

  A skill level (2.0 to 5.5+) describes what a player can do, and you can rate yourself with USA Pickleball's self-assessment. A DUPR rating (2.000 to 8.000) comes from your match results instead. In December 2025, USA Pickleball announced DUPR as the official rating for its own events, and many clubs and tournaments use it to sort players.

Round-robin sheets and cheat cards to print and bring along.

• Printable

  Printable Pickleball Round Robin Sheets (4–16 Players)

  One page per group size, from 4 to 16 players. Give everyone a number, print the page for your group, and follow the rounds. Nobody partners the same player twice, and everyone sits out the same number of times.

• Printable

  Printable Pickleball Scoring Cheat Sheet (Free PDF)

  One page with what new players ask about most. It covers how to call the score, who serves next, which side to stand on, the two-bounce rule and the kitchen. Print it at full size for the club board, or use the cut-out pocket cards at the bottom.