The court. A pickleball court is 20 × 44 feet, the same size as a badminton doubles court. The net is 36 inches high at the sides and 34 inches in the middle. The 7-foot zone on each side of the net is the non-volley zone, which everyone calls "the kitchen".
1. The serve
- Serve underhand, diagonally across the court, from behind the baseline.
- Hit the ball below your waist, with an upward swing.
- Or use the drop serve: drop the ball and hit it after it bounces.
- The serve must clear the kitchen. A serve that lands on the kitchen line is a fault.
- You get one serve, not two.
2. The two-bounce rule
The ball must bounce once on each side before anyone can volley (hit it in the air). So: the return of serve must bounce, and the serving side's next shot (the "third shot") must bounce too. After that, you can volley or play off the bounce.
3. The kitchen
- You can't volley while standing in the kitchen or touching its line.
- If you volley outside it and your momentum carries you in, that's still a fault.
- You can step into the kitchen to play a ball that has bounced.
4. Scoring (the usual way)
- Only the serving side scores.
- Games are usually to 11, and you must win by 2. Some tournaments play to 15 or 21.
- In doubles, the score has three numbers: your score, their score, and server 1 or 2. Each game starts at 0-0-2, so only one player serves on the first turn.
- Some events use rally scoring, where every rally wins a point. Check with the organiser.
5. In or out?
A ball that touches any line is in, except on the serve, where landing on the kitchen line is out.
6. Common faults
Hitting out, hitting into the net, volleying before the two bounces, volleying from the kitchen, and a serve that doesn't reach the right box.
Full rules: USA Pickleball rules summary · Official rulebook. Most Pune events follow these rules; local events may change details like game length, so always check the event page.