Official Pickleball Rules
HISTORY
The mini-tennis game called Pickleball was created during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island a short ferry ride from Seattle, WA. The original purpose of the game was to provide a sport for
the entire family, according to co-inventors U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard, William Bell, and Barney
McCallum.
How did Pickle-Ball get its name?
Pickles was the family dog that would chase after the errant balls and then hide in the bushes, thus
Pickle's ball which was later shortened to the namesake of Pickleball. Initially, families played
Pickleball in their backyards on a hard surface, on driveways, and on residential dead-end streets.
Since the mid-1970's, Pickleball has grown and expanded from a family activity game to a paddle court
sport with formalized rules. Now, over 20 years later Pickleball is played in thousands of school P.E.
programs, parks and recreation centers, correctional facilities, camps, YMCA's and retirement
communities. This sport is becoming very popular among active senior adults at community centers.
SAFETY
*Hold onto your rackets tightly so that it doesn’t hit someone.
*If a ball rolls on your court, stop play and return the ball carefully.
*You may NOT follow through over the net with the paddle.
SERVE
*Players must keep one foot behind the back line.
*The serve is made underhand and the paddle must be below the waist.
*The server must hit the ball in the air on the serve. You are not allowed to bounce it, and
then hit it.
*The serve is made diagonally cross court and must clear the non-volley zone.
*Only one serve attempt is allowed, except if the ball touches the net on the serve and
lands in the proper service court. The serve may be taken over. This is called a let.
*At the start of each new game, the first serving team is allowed only one fault before
giving up the ball to the opponents. Then both members of each team will serve and fault
before the ball is turned over to the opposing team. When the receiving team wins the
serve, the player in the right hand court will always start the play.
VOLLEY
To volley a ball means to hit in the air without first letting it bounce. All volley in must be
done with the player’s feet behind the non-volley zone line. They may not follow through over
the line with their feet or body.
DOUBLE BOUNCE RULE
*Each team must play their first shot off the bounce.
*The receiving team must let the serve bounce and the serving team must let the return of the
serve bounce before playing it.
*After the two bounces, the ball can either be volleyed or played off the bounce.
FAULTS
*Hitting the ball out of bounds.
*Ball not clearing the net.
*Stepping into the non-volley zone and volleying the ball.
*Volleying the ball before it has bounced once on each side of the net as outlined in the double
bounce rule
SCORING
A team shall score a point only when serving. A player who is serving shall continue to do so until
a fault is made by his team. The game is played to 11 points and they must win by a two point
margin.
DOUBLES PLAY
*If the receiving team faults, then a point is scored by the serving team.
*When the serving team makes it first fault, players will stay in the same court and the second
partner will then serve.
*When the serving team wins a point, its players will switch courts and the same player will
continue to serve.
*When the serving team makes its second fault, it will stay in the same court and turn the ball
over to the other team.
*Players switch courts only after scoring.
*A ball landing on any line is considered good.
SINGLES PLAY
*All rules apply with the following exception. When serving in singles, each player serves from
the right hand court when their score is 0 or an even number and from the left hand court when
his score is an odd number.
GENERAL TIPS
*All members of both teams should be back near
COURT
the baseline at the time of the serve, so that neither
will forget to let the first returned ball bounce
before hitting it. (Doubles bounce rule)
*After the ball is in play, lobbing it over the opponents
head is a good strategy.
*A ball landing on any line is considered good.
*If a player sees that the ball is going to land in the
non-volley zone, and they are going to let it bounce, they
may move into the zone before returning it.
*The hand holding the paddle, below the wrist is
considered part of the paddle and shots off
any part of the hand are legal.
Center Service Line