Pickleball Rules for Beginners: 10 Basics to Know Before You Play

New to pickleball? These 10 basics cover almost everything you'll run into in your first few games.

The court and gear

1. Court size: 20 feet wide by 44 feet long, the same as a doubles badminton court. The net is 36 inches high at the sides and 34 inches in the middle.
2. Paddles and ball: solid paddles (wood, composite or carbon fiber) and a plastic ball with holes.

Serving and scoring

3. Serving: serve from behind the baseline, diagonally into the opponent's service area. Volley serves must be hit underhand with contact below the waist. Each server gets one attempt.
4. Scoring: in traditional scoring, only the serving side can score. Games are usually played to 11, and you must win by 2.
5. Singles and doubles: in doubles, both partners serve before the serve passes to the other team (except at the very start of the game, when only one partner serves).

The kitchen and the bounce

6. Non-volley zone (the kitchen): the area 7 feet from the net on each side. You can't volley (hit the ball out of the air) while standing in it or touching its line. You can step in to hit a ball that has bounced.
7. Two-bounce rule: the serve must bounce before it's returned, and the return must bounce before the serving team hits it. After those two bounces, volleys are allowed.

In, out and faults

8. Lines: a ball that lands on a line is in. The one exception: a serve that lands on the kitchen line is out.
9. Faults: common faults include hitting the ball out or into the net, volleying from the kitchen, volleying before the two bounces are done, and a serve that lands in the wrong area.
10. Side out: when the serving team faults, the serve moves to the next server or over to the other team.

Rules get updated from time to time, so check USA Pickleball's official rulebook for the latest details.