What are the 5 Basic Rules of Pickleball | Explained

Pickleball is a simple and fun game that combines badminton, tennis, and table tennis. It is played both indoors and outdoors on badminton-sized courts and tennis nets.

Two or four players use hard, solid paddles made of wood or other composite materials to hit a not-solid bouncy ball over a net. There are some rules of Pickleball as other sports have.

What are the most important rules of Pickleball?

Following are the 5 most important and basic rules of Pickleball.

1. The ball should stay inside
2. There should be one bounce on each side.
3. It is essential to be on the serving baseline.
4. The serve cannot go into the no-volley zone
5. Game ending at 11 or 15 points

Now we are explaining these pickleball rules one by one.

1-The ball should stay inside;

Most sports played inside a field or court requires the ball to remain in play at all times. This means that the Pickleball must remain inside the white lines on both sides of the court throughout the play.

If you hit the ball out of bounds, you lose your turn. And the ball is passed to the team standing on the other side. It puts your team at a disadvantage and affects the outcome of the game.

On the bright side, Pickleball requires the ball to be bounced and returned during your service, so if the ball is “out” on your turn, So you have a better chance of returning your opponent’s serve at the “net” (most points can be won here).

2-There should be one bounce on each side;

It is this principle, as mentioned above that sets Pickleball apart from other net sports. Ironically, this is also the most forgotten rule of Pickleball.

If you bounce the ball twice on your side, it is returned to the other team. If you serve or return to the other side, it must be tossed by you only once. Your service will be terminated if it bounces more than once (or goes out of bounds).

Basically, the ball is bounced once before you return it to the other side. However, when the ball returns after a bounce. And if the server bounces back to the other side after one bounce, the double bounce rule is complete. Then both sides can play the ball in the air or push it forward.

3-It is very important to be on the serving baseline;

There are certain rules of Pickleball when it comes to the serving. But the most important thing is to serve from the baseline. (with one foot behind him).

To learn how to serve click here.

Additionally, the service is performed with the handheld below the waistline and served diagonally to the reverse side.

If these rules are broken, it counts as an error. And if you are playing singles, serve to your partner or directly to another will go to the opposing team.

4-The serve cannot go into the no-volley zone;

It can be anywhere inside the box with the no-volley zone line, which is 7 feet from the net. The nine zones are on either side of the court.

It’s often referred to as the kitchen line, and you’ll hear players say, “Stay off the kitchen” when referring to the no-volley zone. If your ball touches the no-volley zone on the serve, the serve is lost.

Your service needs to go beyond that. However, you may leave the ball in the kitchen line only after serving (called a “drop shot”). But in general, the deeper the service, the better. Just remember that Volley needs to bounce once in each direction before continuing and falling into the kitchen.

5-Game ending at 11 or 15 points;

Traditionally, Pickleball ends at 11 points. But, like in volleyball and tennis games, the winning team must win by at least 2 points.

So if you are on 11 but the other team is on 10, play continues. This means that the next score at which the game can end is 12.

There are some games that go to 15 by default, but they still must be won by at least 2 points. The final score will always be negotiated in advance by both teams. When playing at 11 points, the teams switch sides of the court, and the first team has 6 points. If you play at 21 points, you will switch to 8 points.

Conclusion

Above are the 5 basic rules of pickleball. Now you are ready to start practicing. If you follow these rules, it’s pretty easy to get started.