Rules | My Site

RULES SUMMARY

The following is an abbreviated form of the rules to give a quick overview of how the games will be played. A complete copy of the official rules of pickleball can be found on the USA Pickleball website at usapickleball.org. Although, if there is any conflicts throughout the day, please refer to these rules.

BASIC RULES SUMMARY

The tournament will be played as doubles (two players per team) The same size playing area and rules will be used for pool play and bracket play.
Each team is awarded one timeout every match.

THE SERVE

Players must keep one foot behind the baseline when serving. Service is made diagonally cross-court and must go past the non-volley line (the “kitchen”).
The serve is made underhand in the air; it cannot be hit after a bounce (serves only).
The contact with the ball must be made below waist level.
Only one serve attempt is allowed per server.

SERVICE SEQUENCE

Both players on the serving doubles team have the opportunity to serve and score points until they commit a fault *(except for the first serve of a game)
The first serve of each side-out is made from the right-side court. As long as the server holds serve, after each point the server will alternate serving from the right and left sides of the court.
Once the service goes to the opposition (at side out), the first serve is from the right-side court and both players on that team have the opportunity to serve and score points until their team commits two faults.
*At the beginning of each new game only one partner on the serving team has the opportunity to serve before faulting, after which the service passes to the receiving team.

DETERMINING SERVING TEAM

Any fair method can be used to determine which team has first choice of side, service, or receive. (Example: Coin Flip)

SCORING

TWO-BOUNCE RULE

When the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning, and then the serving team must let it bounce before returning. After the ball has bounced once in each team’s court, both teams may either volley the ball (hit the ball in the air) or play it off a bounce.

NON-VOLLEY ZONE (“THE KITCHEN”)

The non-volley zone is the seven foot zone that is located on both sides of the net.
Volleying is prohibited within the non-volley zone. This rule prevents players from standing at the net and smashing every hit.
You may only hit the ball while you’re in the kitchen once it has bounced. LINE CALLS
A ball that contacts any line, except for the non-volley zone line on a serve, is considered “in.”
A serve contacting the non-volley zone line is short and a fault. FAULTS
A fault is any action that stops play because of a rule violation. A fault by the receiving team results in a point for the serving team. A fault by the serving team results in the server’s loss of serve or side out. A fault occurs when:
Hitting a ball out of bounds
The ball does not clear the net
Stepping into the non-volley zone (“the kitchen”) and volleying the ball Volleying the ball before it has bounced on each side of the net (the “Two-Bounce Rule”)

POOL/BRACKET PLAY

Pool pay will be treated as a round robin, where each team in the pool plays one another.
Then, based on the results of the pool play, teams will be seeded into a single elimination bracket.
The top two teams in each pool will be placed into the
gold bracket, while the bottom/rest of the teams will be placed in the silver bracket.
WINNER WILL RECEIVE $50 GIFT CARD (each), MEDAL, AND FREE T-SHIRT