Pickleball Rules Every Beginner Should Know

Are you thinking about taking pickleball as a leisure sport or a pastime with friends if yes, then start by learning pickleball rules. If you think you are good in tennis, badminton, and Ping-Pong and can wink it in the pickleball game, then you are wrong! Yes, the game started as a mixture of these three sports and shares many similarities with those games, but it has many differences as well. But don’t worry, the game is quite easy and fun to learn and play, and with a few key points, you can ace this sport in no time. If you are new to Pickleball and trying to understand the format and Pickleball rules then this blog will give you a quick and easy brief about the sport.

For Starters, the sport is played on a pickleball court with pickleball equipment. The Pickleball court size must be 20 feet (6.1 m) by 44 feet (13 m) for both doubles and singles and the net height is adjusted to 36 inches at posts and 34 inches at the center.  Pickleball can be played indoors and outdoors and all you need is a pickleball paddle and a pickleball ball that has several holes in it. The game can be played as a Singles game, doubles game, and even on a wheelchair which is often referred to as para pickleball and has its own separate set of rules and format.  Pickleball rules differ based on how many players are part of the game and where is this sport played. Of course, you will learn and understand as you start playing the rules you will learn them better. But a few basic rules is essential.

Scoring in pickleball is simple as there are no games and set like in Tennis. To understand scoring in pickleball, there are a few concepts and rules that are crucial to know.  In that respect, the Serve or serving is the first step in the pickleball game.  Serving is throwing the ball from the baseline and must be made diagonally crosscourt and should land in the opposite court. One serving is complete, and the games begin.

The receiving team has to return the ball to serve and failure to do so can make the serving team gain a score.  Both the serving team and receiving must ensure that no one is hit by the ball as it can result in a point for the opposite team, second, the ball should not hit the ground twice, or the net as this will score a point for the team. In other words, a point is gained when either team commits a fault. A Fault is official pickleball lingo meaning when a player violates pickleball rules. In such cases, the opposite team gains a score.

  Pickleball scoring is called points. These are just some basic pickleball rules on scoring. If you know how to keep score in pickleball, you can ace this game in no time.

When a fault occurs, a point is gained. These points or faults committed have different names. For example, an Ace is when the receiving team fails to return a serve, it is called an Ace, and the serving team gains a point.  A Dink shot is when you hit the ball and it crosses the net and land in the non-Volley Zone on the opponent side, this can get you a point.

Pickleball can be played either as a singles game or a doubles game. In a singles game, only two players play the game, and in Pickleball doubles two teammates play in pairs. Although the general format and pickleball rules are the same, there could be slightly different rules based on the number of players. Let’s dive into how rules differ in both.

Serving team and receiving team scores are announced in respective order. So as per the pickleball rules, a single-player game is when only two people play the game.  the serving player gets the point when the receiving player fails to retune the serve and commits a fault. A fault is when the teams violate pickleball rules like when the serve fails to land within the receiving court, or it hits the net off the serving side, enters a non-volley zone, the ball bounces twice before the receiver hits it, and if and when the ball hit a player. In all such cases, the server gains a point and vice versa. According to pickleball singles rules a game comes to an end when a team scores 11 points and the winner must score at least 2 points more than the other team to win the game.

As per official Pickleball double rules after the first serve, each team gets two underhand serves for each player. In doubles pickleball, the receiving and serving team each has two players which makes the game more intense and interesting. Doubles Pickleball scoring is announced in this order: first score of the serving team is spoken, then the score of receiving team and the number of serves left in the game. Points are gained in the same manner as mentioned above i..e when a fault is committed by either of the teams. Since there are two players, it can become very competitive and fun to watch.