Pickleball Serving Rules Guide

Types of Serves

Basic Serving Rules

Pickleball serving rules are different than any other sport, due to the size of the court, weight of the ball, and correlation with other pickleball rules. There are some basic pickleball rules to learn before you learn how to use them:

• Unlike tennis and other racket sports, there are no overhand serves in pickleball.
• When your paddle contacts the ball, it may not be above your waist level.
• Your arm must be moving in an “upward arc” when you hit the ball.
• Your paddle head may also not be above the highest part of your wrist when it hits the ball.
• You may “drop serve,” which is allowing the ball to bounce before your serve.
• If you use the bounce serve, you must use gravity and are not allowed to push the ball down to get it to bounce harder.
• When you hit the ball, your feet may not be touching the baseline or court in any way, and must be between the imaginary lines that would be the extension of the center line and sideline.
• You must also have at least one foot behind the baseline on the ground or floor.

Where to Serve

When it’s your turn to serve, you will serve cross-court from the side you are currently standing on. The ball must hit above the top of the kitchen line, below the top of the baseline, and within the outside edges of the sidelines.

How Many Serves Does Each Server Get?

Each server only gets one serve attempt per serve. However, if a point is scored, the server will continue serving until a point is lost.

Serving Sequences

In doubles, both players on each team have an opportunity to serve. Each team will earn a point for each won serve and rally. Each player will continue to serve until they have lost a rally.

Serving and Scoring

Only the serving team can score points. Most games are won by the team who reach 11 points first, as long as they win by 2. Tournament games can go to 15 or 21 points, win by 2.

Two-Bounce Rule and Serving

The two-bounce rule in pickleball is incredibly important to the serving rules. The rule requires two bounces in each rally. Here are more details about the two-bounce rule in pickleball:

Line Calls During the Serve

A ball may contact the sidelines or baseline during a serve and be considered “in,” unless it touches the sidelines within the non-volley zone. A ball may not contact the non-volley (or “kitchen”) line during a serve. If it does, it’s considered a fault.

Faults During Pickleball Serves

Concerning serving, there are a few rules about faults you need to know:

• If Server 1 on a team is serving and their team commits a fault, there will be no point scored and the serve will go to Server 2.
• If Server 2 on a team is serving and the team commits a fault, there will be no point scored and the serve is returned to the opposing team.
• If the non-serving team commits a fault, the serving team is awarded a point.

Which Team Serves First

Serving will be determined by the players. You can choose a few different options to choose who is going to serve first. Some facilities have a rule on which side serves first, you can do a coin flip, or you can just discuss it and decide who will serve first.

Learning All the Pickleball Rules for Serving

For it being one aspect of the game, there are quite a few rules when it comes to pickleball serving. But once you get out on the court, you will begin to learn how they all make sense and make pickleball the fun and complex game that it is.