Let’s play Pickleball, this line is already turning one in three heads all over the world. If you’re the third head who is looking at how to start playing pickleball, then we at home for pickleball have got you covered.
To start playing pickleball, you first need to find a pickleball court, know how to hold a paddle, and then follow these 5 simple rules to play pickleball the right way
Rule 1: No volleying in “the kitchen”
The Non-Volley Zone (NVZ), more popularly knows as, “the kitchen”, in Pickleball refers to the lined box located seven feet off the net on both sides of any pickleball court. The kitchen line is also considered as part of the the kitchen area, so make sure you do not stand on the line thinking it will give you an added advantage. As the name states, you cannot hit any volley shots inside the NVZ, even if you have hit a ball out of the air and the opponent is not able to return it but your momentum pushes you in the kitchen, then the point is awarded to your opponents, this rule comes with many sub rules, so read our blog on the Pickleball Kitchen Rules and learn how to leverage these rules to your favour.
Rule 2: There must be one bounce per side.
The “Two Bounce Rule,’ is the major differentiator between Pickleball and tennis. In Pickleball, the receiver and the server have to take their first shots only on the bounce afterwhich they can play either on the bounce or continue vollying. The main reason for this rule is to eliminate the “serve and volley” routine which would be an unfair advantage for the server given the size of a pickleball court.
Rule 3: You must serve at the baseline.
When serving the ball, the server has to stand behind the baseline, no part of their foot can touch the baseline before the paddle has made contact with the ball. The serving motion should be an underhand motion and the point of contact with the ball has to be below the waistline.
Rule 4: Serves cannot land in the non-volley zone.
A legal pickleball serve cannot land in the opponents kitchen area or even the demarcation line. The ball should cross the demarcation line and bounce within the byline and sideline. Many beginners make this mistake of continuing the point even if the serve has landed on the kitchen line, so be aware this is considered an illegal serve as per the official PPA rules.
There has also been an update to the pickleball service rules, which states that it is a let if the serve has touched the net on its way to the opponents court, if this is the case, the server has to do a re-serve. However, if the ball touches the net and lands in the kitchen, outside the court or in the wrong court, that is considered a foul serve. This is a newly launched rule and may not apply to all tournaments, so do clarify it first with your opponents and especially during recreational play.
Rule 5: The game ends at 11, 15, or 21 points.
A traditional pickleball game is played until one team wins 11 points on their own serve. In case both teams reach 10 points then the winner is decided by which team wins two consecutive service points. However most tournaments are played upto 15 points a game depending on if it is a single set match or a best of 3 sets match.
For recreational games, we suggest that you stick to the 11 service points best of 3 sets games as that is the best pickleball game format.
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