Mastering the Serve: Your Guide to Pickleball Serving Rules

Pickleball has surged in popularity, becoming a favorite pastime for people of all ages and skill levels. While the game is known for being accessible and easy to learn, understanding the rules, especially serving rules, is crucial for fair play and enjoyment. This guide will break down the essential pickleball serving rules, ensuring you start each rally correctly and confidently. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to refine your game, mastering the Pickleball Rules Serving is the first step to dominating the court.

Understanding the Fundamentals of Pickleball Serving Rules

The serve in pickleball is unique and sets the stage for each point. It’s important to adhere to specific regulations regarding the serve motion, positioning, and what constitutes a legal serve.

The Legal Serve: Technique and Motion

The most defining characteristic of a pickleball serve is its underhand motion. According to official pickleball rules serving, a legal serve must adhere to the following:

Underhand Stroke: The serve must be executed with an underhand stroke. This means contact with the ball must be made below waist level. Specifically, the rule dictates the paddle must contact the ball below the server’s navel.
Paddle Position: Throughout the upward motion of the serve, the tip of the paddle head must be below the wrist.
Upward Arc: The server’s arm must move in an upward arc during the serve motion.

In addition to the motion, proper positioning is key to a legal serve.

Foot Placement: At the moment the paddle strikes the ball, the server must have at least one foot on the court surface behind the baseline. This foot must be within the imaginary extensions of the centerline and sideline. You cannot step onto the court or over the baseline until after contacting the ball.

The “Let” Serve: What Happens When the Ball Hits the Net?

It’s not uncommon for a serve to hit the net. In pickleball, this scenario is addressed by the “let” rule.

Net Serve: If a served ball strikes the net and still lands within the correct service court, it is considered a “let.” This is not a fault. Instead, the server gets to take the serve again, with no penalty. There’s no limit to how many “let” serves can occur in a row.
Let Serve and Receiver’s Partner: If a “let” serve, after hitting the net and landing in the correct service court, then hits the partner of the intended receiver before touching the court surface, the serve is also replayed as a “let.”

However, it’s important to note the difference between a “let” serve and a serve that hits the net and lands out of the service box. The latter is a fault, and the serve is lost.

Faults in Serving: Avoiding Common Mistakes

Understanding what constitutes a fault during the serve is just as important as knowing the legal serve rules. Faults result in a loss of serve or a point for the receiving team. Common serving faults include:

Illegal Serve Motion: Failing to serve underhand, contacting the ball above the waist, or having the paddle head above the wrist during the upward motion.
Foot Faults: Stepping on or over the baseline or outside the imaginary sideline/centerline extensions before contacting the ball.
Serving Out of Bounds: Serving the ball outside the correct service box, either long, wide, or not crossing the non-volley zone line.
Non-Net “Let”: While a serve hitting the net and landing in is a “let,” a serve hitting the net and landing out is a fault.
Serving Before Ready: Serving before the receiver is ready. While not explicitly stated in the rules as a fault in all contexts, it’s considered poor etiquette and can be called a fault, especially in more formal play.

The Two-Bounce Rule and Serve Sequence: Key to Starting Play

Pickleball’s unique “two-bounce rule” and serving sequence add layers of strategy to the game.

The Two-Bounce Rule Explained

This rule is fundamental to pickleball and is often referred to as the “double-bounce rule.”

Mandatory Bounce: Both the serve and the return of serve must be allowed to bounce once on their respective sides of the net before being struck by a player. This means the receiving team must let the serve bounce and the serving team must let the return of serve bounce.
Groundstroke First: Essentially, the first shot by each team after the serve must be a groundstroke (hit after the bounce).
Volleys Allowed After: Once these initial groundstrokes have been played, volleys (hitting the ball in the air before it bounces) are permitted, except in the non-volley zone (kitchen).

This rule significantly impacts strategy and differentiates pickleball from other racquet sports. It encourages longer rallies and prevents immediate net play off the serve and return.

Serving Sequence in Doubles

In doubles pickleball, the serving sequence follows a specific pattern to ensure fair play and equal opportunities to serve.

First Server Advantage: At the start of the game, the first serving team is only allowed one server. This is a unique rule to pickleball to slightly disadvantage the starting team.
Starting Server Position: The player who is designated as the first server on the starting team always begins their serve from the right-hand service court.
Cross-Court Serve: The serve must always be directed diagonally cross-court, landing in the opponent’s service box that is diagonally opposite and beyond the non-volley zone line.
Score Calling – Initial Serve: When the first server of the game serves, they announce the score with three numbers: “Zero, Zero, Two.” This signifies: server’s score (0), receiver’s score (0), and server number (2 – meaning this is the second server of the inning for their team, but in the first inning, only one server gets to serve).
Switching Sides After Scoring (Server): If the server scores a point, they switch service courts with their partner and serve from the left-hand service court to the diagonally opposite box. Servers continue alternating service courts each time they score a point. You never serve to the same person or from the same service box consecutively when your team is scoring.
Side Out and Second Server Sequence: If the serving team faults (fails to score a point), the serve is transferred to the opposing team. This is called a “side out.”
Opposing Team’s First Serve: The receiving team now becomes the serving team. The player positioned on the right-hand service court for the receiving team becomes the first server. They call the score, for example, “Zero, Two, One” (their score 0, opponent’s score 2, and they are the first server for their team this inning). In all subsequent service turns for a team (except the very first inning of the game), both partners on a team get to serve before a side out occurs.
Second Server’s Serve: If the first server of the new serving team faults, the serve goes to their partner. The second server serves from whichever side they are currently positioned on. For example, if the first server was on the right and faulted, the second server will serve from the left service court. They would call the score, for example, “Two, Two, Two” (their score 2, opponent’s score 2, and they are the second server).
Continuing Service and Alternating Sides: The second server continues serving, alternating service courts after each point scored, until their team faults.
Subsequent Service Turns – Both Servers: After the initial first-server-only inning, in all subsequent service turns for each team, both players on a team will serve before a side out occurs. So, in the next service turn for the initial starting team (after the opposing team’s turn), both players on that team will serve. The score might then be called, for example, “Two, Five, One,” indicating the serving team’s score (2), the receiving team’s score (5), and it’s the first server for this team’s turn.
Even/Odd Score and Server Position: A helpful tip to remember server positioning: When a team’s score is an even number (including zero), the starting server for that team will always be positioned in the right-hand service court. When their score is an odd number, the starting server will be in the left-hand service court.

Serving in Singles: Key Differences

While most pickleball rules remain the same for singles, there’s a key adjustment to the serving rule:

Server Position Based on Score: In singles, a player serves from the right-hand court when their score is “0” or any even number. They serve from the left-hand court when their score is “1,” or any odd number.
All Other Serve Rules Apply: All other serving rules, including the underhand serve, foot fault rules, and the two-bounce rule, remain the same in singles play as in doubles.

Beyond the Serve: Related Pickleball Rules to Know

While this article focuses on pickleball rules serving, understanding related rules will further enhance your game.

Non-Volley Zone (NVZ) Rules

The non-volley zone, often called “the kitchen,” is the area within 7 feet of the net on each side. Key rules related to the NVZ include:

NVZ Definition: The NVZ is the court surface within the sidelines, the NVZ line, and the net. Critically, the air space above the NVZ is not part of the NVZ.
Volleying Fault in NVZ: It is a fault if a player volleys the ball (hits it before it bounces) and, in the process, steps on or touches the NVZ line or the NVZ with their body, clothing, or paddle.
Momentum Fault: Even if a player volleys the ball legally outside the NVZ, it’s a fault if their momentum from the swing causes them to then touch the NVZ before regaining balance. This momentum rule has no time limit; it lasts until the player regains control.
Entering NVZ After Bounce: Players can be in the NVZ at any time, but only if they are not volleying the ball. It’s perfectly legal to enter the NVZ to hit a ball that has already bounced.
Jumping Over NVZ: It is legal to jump over the NVZ from out of bounds to volley a ball, as long as you don’t touch the NVZ while volleying or due to momentum.

General Faults Beyond Serving

Beyond serving faults and NVZ faults, other actions can result in a fault:

Foot Faults: (Reiterated) Stepping into the non-serving court area during the serve.
Net Touch: Touching the net or net posts with your body, clothing, or paddle during play.
Double Bounce: Failing to let the ball bounce once on your side before hitting it (except on the serve and return of serve, where the two-bounce rule applies).
Ball Hits Player: If the ball hits you or anything you are wearing before it bounces on the court, it’s a fault. It doesn’t matter if you are inside or outside the court boundaries.
Catching the Ball: Catching the ball and claiming it was going out is a fault. The ball must bounce to be considered out.
Ball Hitting Side Posts: If the ball hits the side net posts before landing in the correct court, it is a fault.

Other Important Rules

Several other rules contribute to the flow and fairness of pickleball:

Hand Hitting the Ball: It is legal to hit the ball with your paddle hand below the wrist while holding the paddle. However, hitting the ball with any other part of your body is a fault.
“Out” Ball Rule: A ball is not officially “out” until it bounces outside the lines. Never catch a ball in the air or let it hit you if you think it’s going out.
Double/Carry Hits: If you hit the ball with one continuous, single direction stroke, it’s legal, even if the ball is unintentionally hit twice or “carried” slightly on the paddle.
Switching Hands/Two-Handed Shots: You can switch the paddle between hands at any time. Two-handed shots are also legal.
Reaching Over the Net: If a ball bounces on your side of the net and then spins back over the net due to backspin, you are allowed to reach over the net (break the plane of the net) to hit the ball, as long as you or your paddle do not touch the net itself.
Around the Net Serve: If a served ball lands in the correct service court but travels around the net post (outside of the net) instead of directly over it, the serve is still legal.
Partner Communication – “Out” Calls: A player can call a ball “out” even as their partner is about to hit it, but the call must be immediate. To tell your partner not to hit a ball, yell “bounce it,” “let it go,” “no,” or “out.” Saying “out” before the ball bounces is considered communication and stops play. Saying “out” after the ball bounces is the actual “out” call that stops play.

Conclusion

Mastering pickleball rules serving is fundamental to starting every point correctly and setting yourself up for success on the court. By understanding the underhand serve motion, foot placement, the “let” rule, and common serving faults, you’ll be well on your way to serving with confidence and legality. Remember to also grasp the two-bounce rule and serving sequence, as these are crucial for game flow, especially in doubles play. With practice and a solid understanding of these rules, you’ll be serving like a pro in no time and fully enjoying the game of pickleball.