Pickleball Rules — How to Play and Keep Score
This paddle sport is played on a badminton-sized court with a perforated plastic ball. It is easy to score badly and easy to argue about, because in the traditional format only the serving side can add to its total — a rally you win while receiving buys you the serve, not a point. That single rule is why an app is genuinely useful here.
Overview
This paddle sport is played on a badminton-sized court with a perforated plastic ball. It is easy to score badly and easy to argue about, because in the traditional format only the serving side can add to its total — a rally you win while receiving buys you the serve, not a point. That single rule is why an app is genuinely useful here.
Setup
Choose singles or doubles, pick the scoring system and the game target, then decide how many games make the match. In doubles, agree which player starts on the right-hand side. The right-hand player serves first, and in side-out scoring the side that serves first in a game only gets one server before handing the ball over.
How to play
The serve is made underhand and diagonally, must clear the non-volley zone, and both sides must let the ball bounce once before volleying. Rallies end on a fault: hitting the net, going out, volleying while standing in the non-volley zone, or failing the two-bounce rule. In doubles the score is called as three numbers before every serve — the serving side's score, the receiving side's score, then 1 or 2 for which partner is serving.
Scoring
Side-out scoring. A rally won by the serving side adds one point to that side, and the same player serves again from the other half of the court. A rally won by the receiving side scores nothing; instead the serve passes to the partner in doubles, or to the opponents once both partners have lost their serve. In singles there is only ever one server, so a lost rally hands the serve straight over. The very first service turn of a doubles game is numbered 2, meaning the opening call is 0-0-2 and only one player serves before the side-out.
Rally scoring. Every rally scores one point for whoever wins it, regardless of who served. The serve still passes to the other side when the receiving side wins the rally.
Winning a game. A side wins on reaching the target with a lead of at least two. At 10-10 in a game to 11 the game continues until someone is two clear — 12-10, 13-11 and so on — unless a hard cap is set, in which case the first side to reach the cap wins even at one point ahead. With the margin set to one, reaching the target simply ends the game.
Winning a match. The first side to win more than half the games takes the match: two games in a best of three, three in a best of five. Sides change ends between games.
Ending the game
The match is over as soon as one side has the required number of games. Record each game's final score separately so the match reads, for example, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4.
Common variations
Rally scoring to 15 or 21 is now common at club level. Some leagues freeze the score at 10-10 and play a single sudden-death point. Half-court singles narrows the playing area so two players can share a doubles court.
Scoring at a glance
| Who wins | First to target |
|---|---|
| Played to | 11 points by default |
| Score sheet | Counting up to or down from a limit |
| Typical round score | 0 – 21 |
| Negative scores | Never — scores only go up |
| Worth knowing | Points arrive one at a time, so the main control is a plus-one tap per side plus an undo. The display must also show the server number in doubles side-out play. |
Pickleball — score sheet
House rules and settings
Every table plays Pickleball a little differently. These are the 10 rules groups argue about. Each one is a setting in the app — and changing it recalculates a match that is already in progress, which is the thing no other score keeper does.
Scoring system: what are the options in Pickleball?
The traditional game only awards a point to the side that served. Rally scoring gives a point to whoever wins the rally, which makes games shorter and easier to follow.
Default: Side-out (only the server scores). Two options:
In the app: “Scoring system”.
Points to win a game: what is the default in Pickleball?
The score a side must reach to win a game. Recreational and tournament play use 11, medal matches often use 15, and rally-scoring events often use 21.
Default: 11. Adjustable from 5 to 25 in steps of 1.
In the app: “Points to win a game”.
Winning margin: what are the options in Pickleball?
Whether a game keeps going past the target until one side is two points clear, or simply ends the moment a side reaches the number.
Default: Must win by 2. Two options:
In the app: “Winning margin”.
Hard cap: what is the default in Pickleball?
A ceiling that ends a long deuce battle. Set 15 in a game to 11 and the first side to 15 wins even if only one point ahead. Leave at 0 for no cap.
Default: 0. Adjustable from 0 to 40 in steps of 1.
In the app: “Hard cap”.
Match length: what are the options in Pickleball?
How many games make a match. The winner is the first side to take more than half of them.
Default: Best of 3 games. Three options:
In the app: “Match length”.
Deciding game target: what is the default in Pickleball?
The points needed in the final game of a match. Some events shorten the decider, others play it to 15.
Default: 11. Adjustable from 5 to 25 in steps of 1.
In the app: “Deciding game target”.
Singles or doubles: what are the options in Pickleball?
Doubles puts two players on each side and needs the server number tracked. Singles has one player a side and no server number.
Default: Doubles. Two options:
In the app: “Singles or doubles”.
Track server number: on or off in Pickleball?
Shows whether the serving side is on its first or second server, so the score can be called out as three numbers the way it is on court.
Default: on.
In the app: “Track server number”.
First serve of the game: what are the options in Pickleball?
In doubles side-out play the first serving side normally only gets one server before handing over, so the game opens on server two.
Default: Starts on server 2 (called 0-0-2). Two options:
In the app: “First serve of the game”.
Switch ends at halfway: on or off in Pickleball?
Prompts both sides to change ends when the leading score reaches half the target, for example at 6 in a game to 11.
Default: on.
In the app: “Switch ends at halfway”.
Variants of Pickleball
Rally to 21
Every rally is worth a point and the game runs to 21, win by 2. Popular for club nights because the finish time is predictable.
Skinny singles
Singles played into half the court only, using standard side-out scoring. Useful for practice when only two players are available.
Pickleball is also known as
Pickle-ball. These are the same game — the rules and the score sheet above apply to all of them.
Keep score offline
The sheet above works in your browser. Cardzo for iPhone remembers your players, survives a closed tab, and works in a field with no signal.
Coming to the App Store.