What Are The Simple Rules Of Pickleball?
THE SIMPLE RULES: The goal of the game is to have fun, exercise and socialize.
Scoring and Winning: A team gets a point when they win a rally that they served. When the serving team wins a point, the server moves to the other side of the serving team's court. The first team to score 11 points wins (must win by two points). * A team shall score points only when serving. Each time the serving team wins a rally they score a point. . * Rallies are lost by failing to return the ball in bounds (the lines are in bounds) to the opponent's court before the second bounce, stepping into the non-volley zone and volleying the ball, or by violating the double-bounce rule. The hand is considered an extension of the paddle. The player loses the rally if the ball hits any other part of his
body or clothing. A ball hitting a line is considered in. * The serve is diagonal from one side of the court to the other where it must bounce inside the diagonal court and outside the no-volley zone before it is returned. * The return must again bounce on the serving team's court before it is returned over the net. * The Serve: The player on the right always serves first. The ball must contact the paddle below the waist using an underhand motion and must land in the diagonally opposite court, beyond the non-volley line. The server must hit the ball without bouncing it first. The server must start with both feet behind the baseline during the serve with at least one foot on the court surface at the time the ball is struck. Both players on a team will serve before the service passes to the other team. When the serving team wins a point, the server moves to the other side of the serving team's court. This first servers continues to alternate sides and continues to serve until the team loses a rally. In doubles, one team member will serve and continue to serve until the team loses the rally. Then the other team member serves until he/she loses their serve. Then the serves goes over to the other team. From this point on each player from both teams will serve before losing the serve to the other side. To keep the first service of a game fair, only the first player serves during the first service of the game.
Double Bounce Rule: Each team must play their first shot off the bounce. This is called the "double bounce rule" because the ball must hit twice (once on each side) before it can be volleyed. After the first two bounces, each side can choose to hit the ball in the air (volley) or let it bounce once.
NON-Volley Rule: On each side of the net there is a 7' non-volley zone (sometimes referred to as the kitchen) and players cannot be inside the no-volley zone and hit the ball in the air (volley) unless the ball first bounces. When volleying the ball, the player may not step on or over the line. Any other time, a player may be in the non-volley zone without penalty. A player who continues into the non-volley zone after a volley creates a fault and loses the rally no matter whether the ball was dead or not.
Keeping Track of Scoring: Because players switch sides with each point, a simple scoring system was devised to keep track of who is serving. Before each serve, the server calls out his team’s score, the other team’s score, and then whether he is the first or second server for his team. For example, if his team has 5 points, the other team has 3, and his partner has already served and lost the point, he would call out, “5, 3, Server 2.” The Return: The receiving team must let the ball bounce before returning the serve. Also, the serving team MUST let the returned ball bounce once more before hitting it back. This means that there will be two bounces during the first two hits of the rally (known as the double-bounce rule). Singles Play: The server serves from the right side of the court when his or her score is even and from the left side when his/ her score is odd. Self-Referee: The ball is called in or out by the team on the court where the ball bounces. If the ball is too close to call by that team, it is in. Fairness is a virtue!