Pickleball rules explained simply (including the two-bounce rule and the kitchen)

Pickleball has a reputation for being easy to pick up, and it is. But the first time someone calls out "four–two–one" before serving, or yells "kitchen!" at you mid-rally, it can feel like everyone else got a rulebook you didn't.

This is that rulebook, in plain English. We'll cover the court, the serve, the two big rules that make pickleball different — the two-bounce rule and the kitchen — then scoring, faults and a few bits of etiquette. By the end you'll be able to walk onto any court in Australia and play a proper game.

One quick note before we start: pickleball's official rules are updated regularly, and competitions can have their own variations. For social play, what follows is everything you need. If you're heading into sanctioned events, check the current official rulebook.

The court

A pickleball court is 6.1m wide and 13.41m long — the same footprint as a doubles badminton court, and small enough that four pickleball courts can fit on a single tennis court.

• The net is 91.4cm high at the sidelines and 86.4cm in the middle.
• The non-volley zone, better known as the kitchen, is the 2.13m-deep area on each side of the net. Its lines count as part of the kitchen.
• The service courts are the areas between the kitchen line and the baseline, split into left and right halves by a centreline.

The same court is used for singles and doubles. There are no tramlines to worry about.

How a rally works

Every rally starts with a serve. After that, players hit the ball back and forth over the net until someone makes a fault — hitting into the net, hitting out, breaking the kitchen rule and so on. Only the serving team can win a point in traditional scoring (more on that below). If the receiving team wins the rally, they win the right to serve instead.

The serve

The serve is the first big difference from tennis. It's gentle by design.

• It's underhand. For a standard (volley) serve, your arm must move in an upward arc, you must hit the ball below your waist, and the head of the paddle must be below your wrist at contact.
• Or you can drop serve. Drop the ball from your hand (don't throw it or bounce it down) and hit it after it bounces. The underhand restrictions don't apply to a drop serve, which makes it popular with beginners.
• Stand behind the baseline. At least one foot must be on the ground behind the baseline when you hit, and neither foot can touch the baseline or the court inside it.
• Serve diagonally. The ball must land in the service court diagonally opposite, clearing the kitchen.
• The kitchen line is out on the serve. A serve that lands on the kitchen line is a fault. A serve that lands on the sideline, centreline or baseline is in.
• You get one attempt. There's no second serve like in tennis.
• No lets. If the serve clips the net and lands in the correct service court, it's in play. Keep going.

The two-bounce rule

This is the rule that makes pickleball feel so different from tennis, and it's simple once it clicks:

1. The serve must bounce before the receiver hits it.
2. The return of serve must bounce before the serving team hits it.
3. After those two bounces, anyone can hit the ball in the air (a volley) or after a bounce.

In other words, both teams have to let the ball bounce once before anyone is allowed to volley. You'll also hear it called the double-bounce rule.

The two-bounce rule stops the serving team charging the net and smashing the return, which keeps rallies going longer. It's why strong players serve and then wait near the baseline for the return to bounce before moving forward. It's also why the third shot of a rally — often a soft "drop" into the kitchen — is such a big deal in pickleball strategy.

The kitchen (non-volley zone)

The kitchen is the 2.13m zone on each side of the net. The rule is short, but it's the one new players break most often:

You can't volley — hit the ball out of the air — while you're standing in the kitchen or touching the kitchen line.

A few details matter:

• Momentum counts. If you volley the ball and your momentum carries you into the kitchen (or onto the line), it's a fault — even if the ball is already dead. That includes your paddle, a hat or anything else you're wearing or carrying touching the kitchen.
• You can go into the kitchen. There's no rule against standing in the kitchen. You can walk in at any time, and you can step in to hit a ball that has bounced.
• Get out before you volley. If you've stepped into the kitchen to hit a bounced ball, you need to re-establish both feet outside the kitchen before you can volley.

The kitchen exists to stop players standing at the net and smashing everything downward. Instead, it creates pickleball's signature shot: the dink, a soft shot that drops into your opponents' kitchen so they have to let it bounce or hit it up.

Scoring

Traditional pickleball uses side-out scoring: only the serving side can score points. Games are usually played to 11 points, and you must win by 2. Some events play to 15 or 21.

Scoring in doubles

Doubles scoring is where people get confused, so let's take it slowly.

• The score is called as three numbers: the serving team's score, the receiving team's score, then the server number (1 or 2).
• Both players on a team get a turn to serve before the serve passes to the other team — except at the very start of the game, when the first serving team gets only one server. That's why games start with the call "0–0–2".
• The first server on a team always starts from the right-hand service court.
• When the serving team wins a rally, they score a point and the server swaps sides with their partner, then serves again from the other side.
• When the serving team loses a rally, the second partner serves (from wherever they're standing). When they lose a rally too, it's a side out and the other team serves.

So a call of "4–2–1" means: the serving team has 4, the receivers have 2, and it's the first server's turn.

Scoring in singles

Singles is simpler. There's no server number. You serve from the right-hand court when your score is even and from the left when it's odd. Lose the rally and it's a side out.

What about rally scoring?

Some leagues and events use rally scoring, where a point is scored on every rally, no matter who served. It makes game length more predictable. If you turn up to a session that uses it, someone will tell you — the rest of the rules stay the same.

Common faults

A fault ends the rally. The most common ones are:

• Hitting the ball into the net, or out of bounds
• Volleying before both bounces of the two-bounce rule have happened
• Volleying while you're in the kitchen or touching its line (including your momentum carrying you in)
• A serve that lands in the kitchen, on the kitchen line, or in the wrong service court
• The ball hitting you or your clothing
• Touching the net or the net post with your body or paddle while the ball is in play

Line calls

A ball that lands on any line is in — with one exception, which you now know: the kitchen line on the serve.

In social play, players call the lines on their own side of the court. The golden rule is to give your opponents the benefit of the doubt. If you're not sure whether it was in or out, it was in.

A little etiquette goes a long way

• Call the score clearly before every serve.
• Tap paddles at the net after the game. It's pickleball's handshake.
• Don't walk behind a court while a rally is in progress. Wait for the point to finish.
• Help new players with the scoring. Everyone was confused once.
• Share the courts. Many clubs use a paddle-rack queue: put your paddle in the rack to join the next game.

The rules on a page

If you only remember five things, make it these:

1. Serve underhand, diagonally, and clear the kitchen.
2. Let the serve and the return both bounce before anyone volleys.
3. Don't volley from the kitchen or its line — and watch your momentum.
4. Only the serving team scores (in traditional scoring); games go to 11, win by 2.
5. Lines are in, except the kitchen line on the serve.

That's genuinely it. Everything else you'll pick up in a couple of sessions.

Next steps

Coming across from tennis? Read pickleball for tennis players for the habits worth unlearning. Ready to buy your first paddle? Our guide to the best pickleball paddle for beginners in Australia covers what matters. Or find a game near you with our guide to where to play pickleball in Australia.