What Are The Rules Of Pickleball?

 

Playing games outside is a great example of exercise and entertainment. One game that will provide a lot of exercise is pickleball. While sports outside are fun, you need to know the rules before you play any game, and depending on where you get the rules, they can be confusing. What are the rules of pickleball?

How Many People Can Play Pickleball?

The first thing to establish is how many people can play the same game of pickleball. Two people can play pickleball with one another but four people can play in teams of two just like Tennis.

How Many Points Must Someone Score Before Winning The Game Pickleball?

Another similarity pickleball shares with Tennis is the scoring system. An individual or team wins when they reach 11 points but they must have a lead of two points when they reach the score of 11 or the game is not over. If the ball is being served to you, then you will not be able to score off that serve. It is recommended before every serve that the score should be declared in a loud voice with the team that is serving saying their score first. If you are playing in teams of two, then after you declare the score, you must also declare if you are the first or second server for your team.

The Rules Of Pickleball Serving

When you are serving, you can not hit the ball until it’s as high as your hips or lower and you must use an underhand swing. The person serving the ball has to be standing near the back of the court and the ball has to reach the opponent’s playing area by clearing the no-volley zone. If this sounds confusing then it’s the same as the rules of serving that exist in Tennis. The person serving the ball does not get a second chance if the ball leaves the court, hits the net, or lands in the no-volley zone on either side. The ball is good if it hits any of the lines on a serve unless it’s the line of the no-volley zone. If the ball hits the net off a serve and it lands in the playing zone then the server keeps the role of serving.

If you are playing a two-on-two game then both participants of the pickleball serving team take turns serving until the serving team fails at acquiring their point. That is when the role of the serving team changes. The player standing on the right is always the first server of the team.

How Many Times Must A Ball Bounce Before You Can Hit It?

After a serve, the ball can not be hit until it hits the ground first. When the ball is returned, the ball has to hit the ground again before the team that served the ball can hit the ball. After that has occurred on both sides once then you don’t have to let the ball hit the ground before you return it as long as you are at least seven feet away from the net. That is because seven feet within the net from both sides is the non-volley zone

What Is The Non-Volley Zone?

Seven feet within the net from both sides is called the non-volley zone. If the ball is in this area and the ball is hit before it bounces once on the ground. If the ball is hit in this area before the ball bounces on the ground by the serving team then the serving team will lose the serve. If the team receiving the ball commits this then the serving team gets the point. If a player hits the ball from outside this area but his energy makes him move into the area then you lose your serve or give the other team a point depending on which team you are on. Touching the line of this zone is the same as being considered in the zone. The serving team will lose the right to serve if the ball hits the non-volley zone line on a serve.

Those are the rules of pickleball. Many places don’t explain the rules clearly which is why it’s understood if someone would be confused. Hopefully, after reading this, the rules appear much more clear.