10 Pickleball Rules That Confuse Players New to the Game

If you are new to pickleball, you will likely encounter some quirky terminology. For instance, “kitchen” refers to the non-volley zone, “dinks” are soft shots/drops that barely clear the net, and “pickled” refers to a team that loses a match without scoring any points (11-0). Terminology aside, pickleball rules can initially confuse players switching from tennis, squash, and other racquet sports.

Before discussing pickleball rules and their unique aspects, it is important to establish the game’s status as a competitive sport. Here’s a clip from a recent women’s singles match that may change your mind.

You can see the full video at this link.

Most tennis and squash players I know consider pickleball a seniors’ sport. I was one of them. Even as pickleball’s popularity grows internationally, a large section of the pickleball-playing population continues to be middle-aged or above. However, at the advanced level, pickleball is an interesting sport that requires great hand-eye coordination, quickness, and control. If you’ve never played pickleball, you may want to give it a try.

So here are a few pickleball rules that confuse new players.

No overhead serves

Pickleball rules enable long rallies. Power serves that result in “aces” are not the norm. Pickleball serves must be delivered underhand, requiring the paddle head to move upward when the paddle contacts the ball. The highest point of the paddle head must be below the highest part of the wrist, and the ball’s contact point must be below the server’s waist. At the club level, this rule is somewhat subject to application.

The Drop Serve

On a serve, players have two choices. They can drop the ball and hit it off the bounce (drop serve) or hit it before it hits the court surface (volley serve.) The only restriction is that the ball has to be dropped, not thrown down for extra bounce. While on the subject of serves, it is worth noting that in doubles pickleball, the team serving first is restricted to one service, not two.

Unlike tennis, there’s no second serve in pickleball.

Pre-spinning the ball before a serve is illegal

Effective January 2023, pre-spinning the pickleball during a serve toss has been banned. Players can only generate spin during their service with their paddle and not with their fingers.

Point-on-serve scoring system

Pickleball uses a point-on-serve scoring system, unlike the point-a-rally system used in tennis, squash, badminton, and table tennis. Conceptually, the game can get stretched if neither side scores points on their serves.

The three-number scorekeeping in doubles pickleball can confuse new players. In addition to the serving and receiving teams’ scores, the server number becomes part of the score. For instance, a 5-6-2 score would mean that the second person serving has a score of 5-6.

Two-bounce rule

There is no concept of serve and volley in pickleball. Volleying the service and the service return is illegal, which limits the serving team’s advantage. The unique pickleball rule that the ball bounce once on each side at the start of a rally can be confusing to tennis players who come in behind their serves to volley.

Non-volley zone

The non-volley zone (also known as the “kitchen”) is another confusing component for new players. The pickleball court has two 7-foot non-volley zones on each side of the net, denoted by two lines parallel to the net. The non-volley zone is the section of the court where players cannot step in and volley the ball. The depth of the non-volley zone forces players close to the net to let the ball bounce before striking it. To be clear, you can volley the ball in the non-volley zone as long as you do not step on or past the kitchen lines.

Pickleball lines

All pickleball court lines are considered “in” during rallies. The only exception to the rule is a pickleball service that lands on the non-volley zone line, which is “out.”

Calling lines in pickleball

Newbies to pickleball may feel that their opponents are calling the lines incorrectly. Unlike a tennis ball that has a rubber core, pickleball is made of molded plastic and does not compress on contact with the ground. The small contact surface area of the ball makes it harder for players to make the correct call when they do not have a direct view of the ball and the line from inside the court. The images above demonstrate how the same pickleball on a line looks different when viewed from different sides of the court.

No net cord “lets”

In pickleball, a served ball that touches the net and lands on the correct side of the receiving court is a fair ball, and play will continue. Unlike in tennis, no net cord “lets” are awarded on serves in pickleball.

Around-the-post shots

This rule is perhaps borrowed from tennis. A pickleball played around the post and landing on the opponent’s court is a legal shot, provided the striking player does not touch any part of the net. The ball does not need to stay above the net height for around-the-post shots.

So, there you have it. Although pickleball rules are different, they are easy to understand and adapt. Let me know if other rules should be included in this list.