Simplified Rules for Beginner Pickleball

Important: The rules described here are not complete; it is designed as a minimal set of rules for beginner pickleball players to start playing during their first few play sessions.

1) parts of the Court

See the diagram: note the Non Volley Zone (NVZ) and the Serving Area / Court

2) Serving

  • Serve to the diagonal serving court, must bounce once in the service court before it is hit by the receiver

  • Serve underhand

3) Return of Service

  • Receiver must wait for the ball to bounce once and only once before hitting the ball

  • The serving team, after serving the ball, (either player) must wait for the returned ball to bounce once and only once (anywhere on the court) before hitting the ball

4) Non Volley Zone

  • If a player is standing in the NVZ, the player cannot hit a ball out of the air, i.e. before it bounces, i.e. a volley

5) Scoring (ignore for week 1)

  • Points are only scored for the winning serving side.

  • Always start serving on the right service court

  • If you serve and win the rally (i.e. the play), your team get one point, and you switch sides to continue to serve

  • Each player on a side gets to serve before handing the serve to the opponent team (side out).

  • Games to 11, or 9, or 7 to make the game shorter