Pickleball Faults: The Full List in Plain English

A fault is any rule break that stops the rally. If the serving side faults, it loses the serve (to the partner, or a side out). If the receiving side faults, the serving side scores.

During the rally

• Out: the ball’s first bounce is outside the other side’s court. A ball touching a line is in, except the kitchen line on a serve.
• Into the net: the ball doesn’t clear the net. A ball that touches the top of the net and goes over is still in play.
• Two bounces: the ball bounces twice on your side before you hit it.
• Volleying the serve or the return: the two-bounce rule.
• A kitchen volley: you, or anything touching you, touch the kitchen while volleying, or your momentum carries you in afterward. See the kitchen rule.
• The ball hits you: the ball touches your body or anything you’re wearing or carrying, except the paddle or your paddle hand below the wrist. It’s your fault even if you’re standing out of bounds and the ball was going out.
• The ball hits something like a fence or a light pole before it bounces in.
• Double hits: you can hit the ball twice only as part of one continuous stroke in one direction. Both partners hitting the same ball is a fault.
• Carrying or catching: the ball rides along the paddle face instead of bouncing off it.
• No hand on the paddle: hitting the ball with a thrown paddle.

At the net

• Touching the net or the posts with your body, clothes or paddle while the ball is in play.
• Reaching over: hitting the ball before it has fully crossed to your side. Following through over the net after a legal hit is fine.
• Touching the other side’s court while the ball is in play.

Going around the net post with a shot (an “around the post” or ATP) is legal, even if the ball never goes over the net.

On the serve

A foot fault, an illegal volley-serve motion, spin from the hand at release, a serve into the wrong court or into the kitchen, serving after the 10 seconds are up, or serving while the score is still being called. See serve rules.

Who calls faults in rec play

Without a referee, you call your own and your partner’s faults. On the other side you may call only kitchen faults and service foot faults. You can mention any other fault you think you saw after the rally, but the player who allegedly made it has the final word. If the two sides disagree about a fault call, the rally is replayed.

Something outside the game getting in the way (a ball rolling onto the court, say) isn’t a fault: anyone can call a hinder and the rally is replayed.