Pickleball Serving Rules: Who, From Where, To Where and How

Serving in pickleball looks simple until you have to remember which side you are serving from, who the second server is and why the game opens with a call of 0-0-2. Here is the whole of Rule 7 plus the score call per the USA Pickleball 2026 rulebook. For how scoring works and what a side out is, see pickleball rules.

From where and to where

Under rule 7.E the serve goes diagonally into the opposite service court. The ball must clear the opponent's kitchen (the non-volley zone), whether or not it touches the net. A serve that clips the tape and lands correctly is played on.

The side follows your score (rule 5.A.1):

You serve from the serving area behind the baseline. Under rule 3.A.4.g it is bounded by the imaginary extensions of the sideline and the centerline.

Feet

Rule 7.A: at the moment of contact you must have at least one foot on the ground in the serving area, and no foot may touch the court or stand outside the serving area. A foot on the baseline is therefore a fault, and so is a foot beyond the imaginary extension of the sideline.

Two ways to serve

Pickleball has two kinds of serve.

The volley serve under rule 7.C has three conditions:

• the swing goes in an upward arc (7.C.1),
• the paddle head is below the wrist at the moment of contact (7.C.2),
• you hit the ball no higher than waist level (7.C.3).

The drop serve under rule 7.D: you drop the ball from a natural height, let it bounce and then hit it. The rules do not limit the number of bounces or where the ball bounces (7.D.3), and none of the volley-serve conditions apply. You release the ball from a natural height and may not propel it in any way as you release it (7.D.1, 7.D.2).

Among the sports where the serve looks completely different is table tennis with its 16 cm toss.

Spin

Rule 7.B.2 forbids imparting spin to the ball before the hit with any part of the body or the paddle. You may release it from your hand or from the face of the paddle, from which it may only roll off under its own weight (7.B.1, 7.B.2).

Calling the score and the ten seconds

Before every serve the entire score is called (rule 6.C). In singles two numbers, starting with "zero-zero" (6.B.1). In doubles three numbers: the serving team's score, the receiving team's score and the server number. The game opens with the call "zero-zero-two" (6.B.2). Why two? Under rule 5.B only one player serves for the starting side at the beginning of the game, and that player counts as the second server (5.B.2). If they lose the rally, it is straight to a side out, the loss of serve.

Once the score has been called you have 10 seconds to serve (rule 6.D).

What scores and to how many

You score a point only when the serving side wins the rally (rule 4.A). The standard game is to 11, win by 2; tournaments under rule 15.C also play to 15 or 21, always by two. The rulebook also contains a provisional rally scoring option, where the winner of every rally scores (14.A).

Common serving mistakes

• Wrong side. You forget your score is odd and serve from the right. Rule 5.A.1 governs this.
• Ball in the kitchen. A serve that lands in the kitchen or on its line is a fault (7.E.2, 8.C). On the serve the kitchen line is the only line on which the ball is out. More in the kitchen in pickleball.
• Paddle above the wrist. On a volley serve the paddle head must be below the wrist (7.C.2). On a drop serve it does not matter.
• Calling after the hit. The score belongs before the serve, not after it (6.C).
• Foot on the line. The service foot fault, along with the kitchen fault, is the only one your opponent may call on you (9.B.3).

Did you know?

• The side that starts the game has only one server in its first rotation (5.B).
• In doubles the score is called with three numbers and the first call of the game is 0-0-2 (6.B.2).
• You can serve from the hand or the paddle, and the drop serve has no height limit or limit on the number of bounces (7.B.1, 7.D.3).
• The rulebook has a provisional rally scoring option (14.A).