Pickleball cheat sheet
Pickleball
USA Pickleball singles rules (2026 rulebook), abbreviated. When in doubt, see the official rules.
You may not hit the ball out of the air while any part of you touches the non-volley zone or its lines — and that includes follow-through momentum that carries you in afterwards.
The serve must bounce before the return, and the return must bounce before the serving side hits it. Only then may anyone volley.
In singles, serve from the right serving area when your score is 0 or even, and from the left when it's odd. The receiver stands in the service court diagonally opposite.
Things people get wrong:
- No service let. A serve that ticks the net and lands in is live — play it.
- You can spin the ball with your paddle at contact on the serve (2026). You just can't add spin with your hand on the release.
- The kitchen is a no-volley zone only — stand in it any time you're not volleying, and play any ball that bounces there.
- The volley-serve limit is your waist (ball height). The drop serve has no height, arc, or wrist rules.
- Every line: ball touching it is in — except a serve on the kitchen line, which is out.
- After a foot touches the kitchen, both feet must land back outside it before you can volley.
Setup
The court
20 × 44 ft — the same for singles and doubles. The kitchen is the 7-ft non-volley zone against each side of the net. The centre line splits each end into a right and left service court but stops at the kitchen line.
Rally
Two-bounce rule
The serve bounces, then the return bounces. Only from the serving side’s next shot may anyone hit the ball out of the air.
Serve
A legal volley serve
Upward arc, paddle head below the wrist, ball no higher than the waist. Prefer not to think about it? Use the drop serve — none of that applies.
01
Match format & scoring
- Side-out scoring: only the server scores. Lose a rally on your serve and it just passes to your opponent — no point.
- Game: first to 11, win by 2. Match is usually best 2 of 3.
- Change ends: after each game; in a deciding game, when either player first reaches 6.
- Rally scoring (every rally scores a point) is an approved alternate format — check which one your event uses.
02
Serving position & the score
- Call it: two numbers — your score, then your opponent’s. Game starts “0–0”.
- Which side: serve from the right when your score is 0 or even, the left when it’s odd. You keep serving, switching sides after each point won, until you lose a rally.
- 10-second rule: once the score is called, you have 10 seconds to serve.
03
The serve
- Where from: at least one foot on the ground in the correct serving area — behind the baseline, between the centre-line and sideline extensions — and no foot touching the court until after contact.
- Where to: diagonally, clearing the opponent’s kitchen (net touch is fine), into the correct service court. A serve into the kitchen or on its line is a fault. No service let.
- Volley serve: upward arc, paddle head below the wrist, ball no higher than the waist.
- Drop serve: drop the ball from a natural height (no throw, no spin from the hand) and hit it after it bounces — the volley-serve motion rules don’t apply.
- Spin: no spin off the hand or paddle on the release; spin off the paddle at contact is legal.
04
Two-bounce rule
- Serve: the receiver must let it bounce.
- Return: the serving side must let that bounce too.
- After that: anyone may volley or play off the bounce.
05
The kitchen (non-volley zone)
- No volleying while touching the kitchen or its lines — nor if your momentum carries you in afterwards, even after the ball is dead.
- Reset both feet: once you’ve touched the kitchen, both feet must be back fully outside it before you may volley.
- Otherwise it’s just floor: stand in it whenever you like, and step in to play any ball that bounces there.
06
Faults (lose the rally)
- Out or net: ball lands out, hits the net post, goes into or under the net, or doesn’t reach the far court.
- Bounce broken: a volley before the two-bounce rule is satisfied, or letting the ball bounce twice.
- Kitchen or serve: a non-volley-zone violation, or an illegal serve (foot fault, wrong court, into the kitchen, illegal volley-serve motion).
- Reach & touch: hitting the ball before it crosses to your side, or touching the net, the net posts, or your opponent’s court while the ball is live.
- Body & double hit: the ball hits you or your clothing; or a hit that isn’t one continuous, single-direction stroke.
07
Line calls, conduct & breaks
- In or out: any part of the ball on the line is in — except a serve on the kitchen line, which is a fault.
- Your side, your call: call your own lines promptly. Only call “out” if you can clearly see space between ball and line; if not, it’s in.
- Timeouts: two per game (to 11), one minute each — call between rallies before the next serve.
- Medical timeout: one per player per match, up to 15 minutes, referee-administered.
- Between games: up to 2 minutes.
- Coaching: only during timeouts and between games — not during play.