Pickleball scoring rules
Pickleball scoring confuses newcomers for one reason: only the serving side can score, and in doubles the score is called as three numbers rather than two.
Once you know what the third number means, the rest is straightforward.
Keep score while you read
The basics
- Only the serving side scores. Win a rally as receiver and you gain the serve, not a point.
- Games go to 11 and you must win by two, so 12–10 and beyond are normal.
- Tournament play often uses 15 or 21, still by two.
- The serve is made diagonally, underhand, from behind the baseline.
Calling the score in doubles
Three numbers, always in this order: the serving side's score, the receiving side's score, then the server number — 1 or 2.
- "0–0–2" starts the game: the first serving side gets only one server in the opening turn, so it begins on second server.
- After that, both partners serve before the serve passes to the other side.
- When your side gains the serve, the player on the right serves first.
- In singles there is no server number: the score is just two numbers.
The kitchen and the two-bounce rule
Two rules shape rallies rather than the score, but they end them often enough to matter. Neither player may volley while standing in the non-volley zone — the kitchen — the seven feet either side of the net. And the serve must bounce, and the return must bounce, before anyone may volley.
Frequently asked questions
Serving side's score, receiving side's score, then which of the two partners is serving. The third number tells everyone whether losing the rally passes the serve to your partner or to the other side. Singles uses only two numbers.
No. Only the serving side scores. Winning a rally as receiver earns you the serve, and you score from there.
Nobody has scored and the serving side is on its second server. The side serving first only gets one server in that opening turn, which stops them gaining an advantage from serving first.
11, winning by two, for recreational and most tournament play. Some tournament formats use 15 or 21, always with the two-point margin.