pickleball rules - quick summary

see link at bottom of page for the full official uspa rulebook

pickleball is played as either a doubles (2 players per team) or singles (1 player on each side of court)
both singles and doubles use the same size and area of the court

the server’s arm must be moving in an upward arc when the ball is struck
paddle contact with the ball must not be made above the waist level
the head of the paddle must not be above the higest part of the wrist at contact with ball
a “drop serve” is also permitted in which case none of the above elements apply
at the time the ball is struck, the server’s feet may not otuch the court or outside imaginary extenstion of the sideline and centerline at at lease one foot must be behind the baseline on the playing surface or the ground behind the baseline
the serve is made diagonally crosscourt and must land within the confines of the opposite diagonal box
one one serve attempt is allowed per server

both players on the serving doubles team have the opportunity to serve and score points until they commit a fault (except for the first service sequence of each new game, only one server can serve to start the game)
the first serve of each side-out is made from the right hand side of the court
if a point is scored, the server switches sides and the server initiates the next server from the other half of the court
as subsequent points are scores, the server continues switching back and forth until a fault is commited by the serving team, then the first server loses the serve
when the first server loses the serve the partner then serves from their correct side of the court
the second server continues serving until the serving team commits a fualt, at which point the serve moves over to the opposing team (this is called a side out)
once the service goes to the opposing team, the first serve is again from the right hand side of the court and the process repeats
in singles the server serves from the right hand side of the court if the score is even and left hand side of the court if the score is odd.

points are scored only by the serving team
games are typically played up to 11 points, win by 2
various adjustments to the scoring values can be made at tournaments at the discretion of the director
when the serving team’s score is even; the playerwho was the first server in the game for that team will be in the right hand side of the court. when the serving team’s score is odd; that same players will be in the left hand side of the court.

when the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning, and then the serving team must also let it bounce before returning, thus two bounces
after the ball has bounced once in each team’s court, both teams may either volley the ball (hit the ball before it bounces) or play it off a bounce.
the two-bounce rule eliminates the serve and volley adventage and extends rallies

the non-volleyzone is the court area within 7 feet of both sides of the net
volleying the ball is prohibited within the non-volley zone. this rule prevents players from executing smashes from a position within the non-volley zone
it is a fault if;
- when volleying a ball, the players steps on the non-volley zone, this includes the lines and/or when the player’s momentum causes them or anything they are wearing or carrying to touch the non-volley zone including its associated lines
- after volleying, a player is carried by their momentum into or touches the non-volley zone, even if the volleyed ball is declared dead before this happens
a player may legally be in the non-volley zone anytime other then when in the act of volleying the ball. this means you can be in the non-volley zone before, during, or after the ball bounces in the non-volley zone, you just cannot volley it while in the non-volley zone
the non-volley zone is commonly referred to as the kitchn

a ball contacting any line, except the non-volley zone line on a serve, is considered “in”
a server contacting the non-volley zone line is considered out