The paddle is similar to a large ping pong paddle but with a wooden, fiber glass or composite face.

The ball is a plastic ball with holes, similar to a whiffle ball.

Pickleball is played in singles (1v2 ) or doubles (2v2).

We prefer a good old game of rock, paper, scissors, but a coin toss is also a solid choice.

Only one serve attempt is allowed per server.

Each serve must be made underhand by dropping the ball and hitting it or bouncing the ball and hitting it.

The server must stand behind the baseline.

The server must hit the ball diagonally to the opposite court side each serve.

For Doubles

At the start of the game only one player on the serving team may serve before faulting, then serving moves to the opposing team.

From this point on, each player on the serving team has a chance to serve before faulting or losing the rally.

The first serve is made from the right side of the court. If a point is scored, the server switches to the left side before ahead of the next serve.

Each player on the serving team may serve and tally points until a fault occurs or if they lose the rally.

For Singles

The serve occurs from the right side of the court on even scores and from the left side on odd scores.

The first serve is made from the right side of the court.

After scoring a point, the server switches to the left side before the next serve.

Each player on the serving team may serve and score points until a fault occurs or the rally is lost.

Both the serve and the first return must bounce before either team can hit the ball.

After the second bounce occurs, either team can volley the ball or play it off a bounce.

This rule helps minimize advantages by serving team.

The "kitchen" is a non-volley zone in pickleball, a rectangular area extending 7 feet on either side of the net.

Players are not allowed to volley the ball (hit it before it bounces) while standing in the kitchen.

This rule is in place to prevent players from gaining an unfair advantage by hitting powerful volleys from close to the net.

Scoring points can only occur by the team with possession of the serve.

The serving team continues to score points until the opposing team successfully wins the serve.

If the ball hits any line, with the exception of the kitchen line, it's considered 'in play.'

Games are typically played to 11 points and won by 2.

Spice it up and play best of 3 games to determine who the true dinker is.ription

The serving player calls out the score before each serve.

In singles, the sore is dictated in 2 numbers (the score of each team).

In doubles, the score is dictated as three numbers, in the following order:

1. Serving team score
2. Opposing team score
3. Server number (1 or 2)

If you have the basics down but want to 'dink' deeper, visit USA Pickleball for the official game rules.

Still confused? Don’t worry, we were are there once.

We recommend watching this 10-minute video on YouTube for an excellent crash course on Pickleball fundamentals.