New to Pickleball? Start Here.

Pickleball is easy to start—but the first few games can be confusing.

Who serves? How do I score? What is the kitchen? Why does everyone keep saying "side out"? Where am I supposed to stand?

You do not need to memorize an entire rulebook before you play. You need to understand the few basic rules that explain most of what happens on the court.

I'm Coach Linda, and I'm known for making pickleball simple, approachable, and less intimidating—especially for beginners and adults 50+.

Let's make the game make sense.

1. What Is the Goal of Pickleball?

The goal is simple: hit the ball over the net and into your opponent's court so they cannot legally return it.

Pickleball can be played as singles (one player against one player) or doubles (two against two). Doubles is especially common in recreational play. You use a paddle and a perforated plastic ball on a court divided by a net.

The game becomes much easier to understand once you learn four things:

• Serving
• Scoring
• The Two-Bounce Rule
• The Kitchen

2. How Does Pickleball Scoring Work?

Scoring is one of the first things that confuses beginners.

For traditional side-out scoring, only the serving team scores a point. When the receiving team wins the rally, it generally earns the serve rather than a point.

Most traditional games are played to 11 points and must be won by 2. Some tournament formats can use different game lengths or rally-scoring formats, so it is smart to ask what format you are playing before the game begins.

In doubles, you will often hear the score called as three numbers. For example:

5–3–2

In traditional doubles scoring, those numbers identify the serving team's score, the receiving team's score, and the server number.

Don't worry if this sounds confusing. After a few games, it starts to feel natural. And yes—you will probably forget the score at least once. Everybody does.

Rule note: USA Pickleball recognizes additional rally-scoring formats in certain tournament settings, so the scoring format can depend on the event. The current 2026 USA Pickleball Rulebook is the definitive source for official rules.

3. How Does the Serve Work?

The serve starts each rally.

For standard pickleball play, the serve is made underhand and diagonally across the court into the opponent's service area. The current USA Pickleball rules set the detailed requirements for a legal serve.

A serve must clear the non-volley zone and land in the correct service box.

Beginner tip: Don't try to hit the hardest serve you can. A consistent serve that gets in is much more useful while you're learning.

4. What Is the Two-Bounce Rule?

This is one of pickleball's most important rules.

• The receiving team must let the serve bounce before returning it.
• The serving team must let that return bounce before returning it.
• After those two bounces—one on each side—players may begin volleying.

Think of it this way: Serve → Bounce → Return → Bounce → Now you can volley

Once you understand that sequence, a lot of pickleball suddenly makes more sense.

5. What Is the Kitchen?

The kitchen is the nickname for the non-volley zone, the area closest to the net. It extends 7 feet from the net on each side.

Here's the part beginners need to remember:

• You cannot volley the ball while standing in the kitchen or touching the kitchen line.
• You can, however, step into the kitchen to play a ball after it bounces.

Easy way to remember it: Kitchen + volley = no. Kitchen + bounced ball = okay.

The kitchen is one of the things that makes pickleball different from many other paddle and racket sports.

6. What Is a Fault?

A fault is a rule violation that ends the rally. What happens next depends on the scoring format and which team committed the fault.

Common beginner examples include:

• A ball landing out of bounds
• A ball going into the net
• Violating the serving rules
• Breaking the two-bounce rule
• Volleying illegally in the kitchen

You don't have to memorize every possible fault on day one. Learn the basics first. The details will come with experience.

7. Where Should You Stand?

Your position depends on what is happening in the rally. After the serve and return have bounced, players commonly move toward the non-volley zone to improve their position for the next shots.

Beginner lesson: Don't chase your partner's space.

In doubles, you and your partner should generally move together rather than leaving a large gap between you.

Good positioning comes with practice. You do not need to look perfect on your first day.

8. Singles vs. Doubles

Singles: You have the entire court to cover by yourself, so there is more movement and more responsibility for every shot.

Doubles: You share the court with a partner. Doubles is very common in recreational pickleball and is one reason the sport has such a strong social side.

For many beginners, doubles is a comfortable way to start because you are not responsible for the entire court alone.

9. What Should a Beginner Learn First?

Don't try to learn everything at once. Start with these five things:

• How to serve — Know where to stand and where the ball needs to go.
• How scoring works — Know who can score in the format you are playing and how the score is called.
• The two-bounce rule — Remember: serve bounces, return bounces, then volleys.
• The kitchen — Know what you can and cannot do while standing there.
• Basic court positioning — Learn where you and your partner should generally be.

Once those things become comfortable, you can start learning strategy, dinks, drops, resets and more advanced shots.

Choose Gear That Makes Learning Easier

You do not need expensive equipment to learn pickleball. Start with gear that feels comfortable, fits your game and supports consistent practice.

The Biggest Beginner Mistake

Trying to learn everything before actually playing.

Pickleball is a sport. You learn by understanding, practicing, playing, making mistakes and trying again.

You don't need to be perfect to start enjoying the game.

A Simple Pickleball Cheat Sheet

• Serve: Underhand and diagonal in standard play.
• Score: Traditional side-out scoring awards points to the serving team; some tournament formats use rally scoring.
• Game: Traditional games are usually to 11, win by 2.
• Two-bounce rule: Let the serve bounce, then the return bounce.
• Kitchen: Don't volley while standing in it or touching its line.
• Doubles: Two players on each team.
• Goal: Keep the ball in play and make the next smart shot.

Keep Learning

Now that you understand the basic rules, the next step is learning what actually happens when you walk onto a court.

• Navigate the Courts → Learn about open play, rotations, court etiquette, finding games and knowing where to go.
• New to pickleball? Start with Getting Started →

Ready to Go Deeper?

Once the basics make sense, you are ready to learn how the game, the courts and pickleball culture fit together.

The Pickleball Essentials: Navigating the Game, the Courts, and the Culture

It is designed to help beginners understand what to do, where to go, and what to expect as they get started.

GET THE BOOK →

Keep Learning With Coach Linda

Want to see the game explained? Watch the TPE videos that go with this lesson.

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