How to Play Pickleball: A Beginner's Guide

Pickleball is played on a small court with a low net, a perforated plastic ball and solid paddles, usually as doubles. You serve underhand and diagonally, the ball must bounce once on each side before anyone can volley (the two-bounce rule), and you cannot volley while standing in the no-volley zone next to the net, called the kitchen. Only the serving side can score, games are usually played to 11 and won by two, and you call the score before each serve. That is enough to start. The rest of this guide explains each part in order, from the court to your first strategy, and ends with where to find a game.

The court and equipment

A pickleball court is the same size for singles and doubles, considerably smaller than a tennis court, with a net slightly lower than a tennis net. The lines mark two service boxes on each side and the non-volley zone, a strip on each side of the net. Exact measurements are in the court dimensions guide.

You need:

• A paddle. Solid, roughly the size of a large table-tennis paddle, made of composite materials. See best paddles for beginners.
• A ball. Plastic with holes. Indoor and outdoor balls differ. See balls: indoor vs outdoor.
• Court shoes. Non-marking, with lateral support. See the shoes guide.

Most public courts and clubs have loaner paddles for beginners.

Serving

The serve starts every point. The core rules:

• Serve from behind the baseline, diagonally cross-court into the opposite service box.
• The serve is underhand: the paddle must contact the ball below the waist with an upward motion, or you may drop the ball and hit it after the bounce.
• The ball must clear the net and land in the diagonal service box, beyond the kitchen line. A serve that lands in the kitchen or on the kitchen line is a fault.
• You get one serve attempt; there is no second serve.

Full details, including the drop serve, are in the serving rules guide.

The two-bounce rule

After the serve, the receiving side must let the ball bounce before returning it. Then the serving side must let that return bounce before hitting it. After those two bounces, either side may volley (hit the ball in the air) or play it off the bounce. The rule prevents the serving team from rushing the net and smashing the return, and it shapes the whole rhythm of the game.

The kitchen (non-volley zone)

The kitchen is the zone on each side of the net. You may not volley a ball while standing in it or touching its line, and your momentum may not carry you into it after a volley. You may stand in the kitchen to hit a ball that has bounced. The kitchen rule guide covers the edge cases.

Scoring

In standard doubles, only the serving team scores. The score is called as three numbers: serving team's score, receiving team's score, and server number (1 or 2). Each team gets two servers per turn, except at the very start of the game when the first serving team gets only one. Games go to 11, win by two. The scoring guide walks through it with examples.

Basic shots

Serve. Deep and consistent beats fancy.

Return of serve. Deep, to push the servers back, then move to the kitchen line.

Third shot drop. The serving team's third shot of the rally, a soft shot that lands in the opponents' kitchen so the servers can advance to the net. The signature pickleball shot.

Dink. A soft shot from the kitchen line that lands in the opponents' kitchen. Dinking rallies decide many points at intermediate level and above. See what is a dink.

Volley. Hitting the ball in the air, from behind the kitchen line.

Drive. A hard, flat groundstroke, used to pressure opponents or set up a put-away.

Overhead. A smash on a ball that has been lobbed or popped up.

Basic strategy

1. Get to the kitchen line. Points are won at the net. The team at the line controls the rally.
2. Return deep, then come in. The returning team has the easier path to the net; use it.
3. Drop, do not drive, the third shot until you are confident; a good drop gets you to the net safely.
4. Keep the ball low. Balls that bounce high get smashed.
5. Be patient in dink rallies. The player who pops the ball up loses.
6. Communicate in doubles. Call "mine", "yours", "out" and "bounce".

Common beginner errors

• Standing at the baseline and never advancing.
• Serving too hard and faulting.
• Volleying from inside the kitchen.
• Forgetting the two-bounce rule.
• Hitting every ball as hard as possible.
• Calling the score wrong or not at all.

Etiquette

Introduce yourself, agree on warm-up, call the score clearly, call lines honestly, and rotate off the court fairly in open play. The etiquette guide has the details, and open play explained covers how drop-in sessions work.

Finding a court and a game

Public parks, community centres, tennis clubs with converted courts and dedicated pickleball clubs all host play. The court directory lists courts by city with surface, lighting and access information, and the how to find courts guide explains what to look for. Beginners are usually welcome at open play; arrive, put your paddle in the queue and join.

Improving

Drill the dink, the third shot drop and the deep return. See drills for beginners. Once you have played a few months, learn how skill ratings work so you can find games at your level: see ratings explained.

FAQ

Is pickleball easy to learn?

Yes. The court is small, the ball is slow and the underhand serve is simple. Most people can rally within their first session.

Can you play pickleball as singles?

Yes, on the same court. Singles scoring drops the server number: the score is two numbers, and you serve from the right when your score is even and the left when odd.

What is the two-bounce rule?

After the serve, each side must let the ball bounce once before anyone can volley. It stops the serving team from rushing the net.

Why can't you volley in the kitchen?

To stop players standing at the net and smashing everything. It keeps rallies going and makes soft play matter.

How long does a pickleball game take?

A game to 11 usually takes somewhere between ten and twenty-five minutes depending on the level and how many rallies are long; it varies widely.