Pickleball Singles: Rules, Tips, and Scoring Explained

Pro Catherine Parenteau, PPA 2024 (Picture Kerry Pittenger)

The Basics of Pickleball Singles

Hey guys, it’s Kyle from ThatPickleballGuy. To start, singles is played first to 11, win by two. Just like doubles, there are three fundamental rules to follow.

Serve Rules

Number one: the serve rules. Here’s the gist: both your feet must be behind the baseline. One foot can be hovering over the line, but one foot must always be on the ground when you make contact. So, you can’t jump in the air to serve. You must serve underhand. A couple of nuance points to this: the paddle face must make contact with the ball below your wrist and below your waist. But the gist is, you just have to serve underhand.

You can also hit a drop serve, and all those nuanced rules go out the window. Just know you can only drop the ball; you can’t throw it down to make it bounce higher. Now, on the serve, the ball must go diagonally across the net (Figure 1).

Also, the ball must land beyond the kitchen line. If it lands on the kitchen line, it’s a fault. If it hits any other line beyond the kitchen, you’re good.

The Two-Bounce Rule

Here’s fundamental rule number two: the two-bounce rule. Now, if you’re from tennis, you know about the serve-and-volley where a player serves the ball, charges the net, and hits the ball out of the air for a put-away. You can’t do that in pickleball. In pickleball, each player must let the ball bounce once on their side before they can hit the ball out of the air, which is called a volley. After the ball has bounced once on each side, you can legally hit the ball out of the air, as long as you’re behind the kitchen line. More info on the Two-Bounce Rule here.

The Kitchen Rules (Non-Volley Zone Rules)

Now, let’s talk about the third fundamental rule: the kitchen rules or the non-volley zone rules (NVZ). Listen up, because these are the rules that confuse most people when they first start playing. As I said earlier, another name for the kitchen is the non-volley zone because you can’t hit the ball out of the air when you’re standing in the kitchen (Figure 2).

If you could, the game would look totally different. If you hit the ball out of the air, your feet can’t touch the kitchen line or be inside the kitchen. If your momentum carries you into the kitchen after hitting a ball out of the air, even if the point is “over,” that’s a fault.

If the ball bounces into the kitchen, you can step in there all day to get it. You don’t have to wait for the ball to bounce before stepping in; you can anticipate the ball bouncing and get in there early. After stepping in to get the ball, make sure you get out of the kitchen and re-establish both feet behind the kitchen line immediately so you’re able to hit the next ball out of the air legally.

Five Ways to Win a Point

Now, here are five ways to win a point:

• If your opponent hits the ball out, you win a point.
• If your opponent hits the ball into the net, you win a point.
• If your opponent lets the ball bounce twice on their side, you win a point.
• If your opponent commits a kitchen violation, you win a point.
• If your opponent gets hit by the ball, you win a point.

Key Points Before Starting

Three quick things before you get started:

1. You can only score points when you’re the one serving, just like doubles.
2. You only get one opportunity to serve, so if I serve and miss it into the net or miss it long, I don’t get a second serve like in tennis. It just goes to the other side.
3. If I lose on my serve, it’s called a side out, meaning the other person gets a chance to serve and score points.

Think you know pickleball inside and out? Challenge yourself with ThatPickleball IQ Test and see if you can score a perfect 10 out of 10! 

See you guys next time 👊🏻