Pickleball Rules: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners
Pickleball is a fun and exciting sport that has gained immense popularity in recent years. It combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong, and is played on a court that is similar to a doubles badminton court.
The game is easy to learn, making it a great option for people of all ages and skill levels to play. However, like any other sport, pickleball has its own set of rules that players must follow. In this blog post, we'll provide a comprehensive guide to pickleball rules for beginners.
Court Dimensions: The pickleball court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long, which is the same size as a doubles badminton court. The court is divided into two halves by a net that is 36 inches tall at the edges and 34 inches tall in the center.
Serving: The serve is an essential part of pickleball. At the start of the game, the player on the right hand block of the court will always serve first to the diagonally opposite court. The serve must be made underhand, and the paddle must contact the ball below the waist. The server has the option of dropping the ball and hitting it after the bounce. The ball can be dropped from any height but cannot be thrown or tossed.
The server must serve from behind the baseline and hit the ball into the opponent's service area diagonally. The serve must land in the opponent's service area without touching the net. The receiving team must let the ball bounce once before returning it. Do not continue into the court, you want to remain behind the baseline until after the third shot is hit. After the serve, both teams can hit the ball without letting it bounce.
Scoring: As you are learning the game, it is important to know how to keep an accurate score. Pickleball can be played as either doubles or singles. Points are only awarded when the serving team wins a rally. Players on the serving teams can continue serving until a fault is made by their team. When playing doubles, the score should be called as three numbers.
The order for calling the score is: server score, receiver score, and for doubles only the server number one or two. The server number applies for that service turn only. Singles scoring is similar to doubles scoring except there is no second server on the serving team. The serve is always done from the right side when the server’s score is even and from the left side when the server’s score is odd. The first team to score 11 points and lead by two points wins the game, but in tournaments it is the first to score 15 or 21 points and lead by two point wins. The game is typically played in a best-of-three format.
Double Bounce Rule: After the ball is served, the receiving team must let the ball bounce once before returning it. The serving team must also let the ball bounce once before returning it. After the two bounces, both teams may either volley the ball or play it off a bounce.
Faults: There are several faults that can occur during a pickleball game. These include:
- Serving or returning the ball out of bounds
- Hitting the ball into the net
- Failing to hit the ball over the net
- Stepping into the non-volley zone and hitting the ball
- Hitting the ball out of bounds
- Touching the net with the paddle or body
- Hitting the ball before it bounces on the serve
If a fault occurs, the opposing team gains the serve and a point.
Kitchen: The non-volley zone known as the kitchen is a seven-foot area on both sides of the net where players are not allowed to hit the ball in the air. However, they can enter the non-volley zone to play a ball that has bounced.
Switching Sides: At the end of each game, players switch sides of the court. If a third game is needed, the players switch sides when one player or team gets six points.
Faults on the Serve: If a server makes a fault on the serve, the serve goes to the other team. If the server makes two faults in a row, the serve goes to the other team and a point is given.
By following these rules, players can enjoy all the benefits of pickleball while improving their skills and having fun with family and friends.