Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America and for good reason! Play pickleball with us, thanks to our partnership with YouFit Gyms. Click here to find a pickleball court near you. Have you been wanting to start playing but don't know the rules? Well, we've got you covered!

Basic Rules

• Pickleball can either be played as a singles or a doubles game, but doubles is most common.
• The same rules are kept whether pickleball is played a singles or doubles game.

The Serve

• The serve must always be underhand
• The serve can only be hit after the first bounce.
• The serve must be made diagonally cross court and land past the no volley zone ie the Kitchen and within the confines of the court. See diagram above
• Only one serve is allowed, except in the event that the ball touches the net and lands in the proper service court (let serves are replayed)

The Two Bounce Rule

• The ball is served in from spot #1.
• When the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning and the serving team must do the same.
• Both team may either volley the ball (hit the ball before it bounce) or play it off a bounce.

The Non-Volley Zone - "The Kitchen"

• The non-volley zone is the court area within 7 feet on both sides of the net, also known as the Kitchen.
• When a player is volleying, it is considered a fault if they step in the Kitchen & therefore lose the point.
• After the player has volleyed the ball, it is considered a fault if they enter the non-volley zone before the ball hits the other side of the court. The volleyed ball is then declared as dead.
• A player may legally be in the non-volley zone any time other than when volleying a ball.

The Scoring

• Points are scored only by the serving team.
• Games are normally played to 11 points, win by 2.
• Tournaments games may be to 15 or 21, win by 2.

The Service Sequence

Singles

• If the server scores a point, they switch sides and serves from the left side of the court. When their score is even, they serve from the right/even court and from the left/odd when the score is odd.
• When the server makes a fault, the serve gets passed to the opponent.
• Then player 2 serves.

Doubles

• Both players on the serving doubles team have the opportunity to serve and score points until they commit a fault.
• If a point is scored, the server switches sides and the server initiates the next serve from the left court

• In doubles, when the serve switches to the next team, the player on the right side of the court begins serving.

Ready to play pickleball?

Find a YouFit Gyms near you and start playing! Click here to book your pickleball court reservation today. Use promo code YOUPICKLEFREE at checkout to get your first time free.