Pickleball Scoring: Understanding Points and Court Position

The game begins with a serve from the right side of the court. This side is also known as the "even" side. Since the score starts at zero, which is an even number, you begin on the right side.

• In singles, both players start on their right side, as you serve diagonally into your opponent's side.

You score a point by winning a rally while serving. If the receiving team or player makes a fault, the serving team or player earns a point. Points can only be scored while serving; the receiving team cannot score. Common faults by the receiving team include:

• The return of the serve is hit before the ball bounces once
• The ball goes into the net or out of bounds
• The ball strikes a player or their clothing
• A paddle, player, or player’s clothing hits the net while the ball is in play

Change servers if the serving team commits a fault. In doubles, if the first server faults, the second server gets a chance to serve. In singles or if the second server faults, it’s a "side-out," and the serve passes to the opposing player or team. Note that the receiving team doesn’t score a point if the serving team faults. Serving team faults include:

• The serve doesn’t land in the opponent’s diagonal service area
• The server steps on or over the baseline
• The initial serve return is hit before the ball bounces
• The ball goes into the net or out of bounds
• The ball strikes a player or their clothing
• A paddle, player, or player’s clothing touches the net during play

Announce the score before each serve. Calling out the score before serving helps everyone keep track of the game. Since only the serving team can score and serves are done one point at a time, the score for the server is always called first, followed by the receiver’s score. Even if the score doesn’t change, the number positions might. For instance:

• If you have 6 points and your opponent has 7, you’ll call out "6 7" before serving.
• If you commit a fault and your opponent takes the serve, they’ll call "7 6" before their serve, switching the positions of the numbers, even though the score is the same.

Include the server number in the score for doubles. In doubles, the score has three components: the server's score, the receiver's score, and the server number, which is always 1 or 2.

• For example, if you're the first server and your team has 6 points while your opponent has 7, you would announce "6 7 1" before serving.
• In tournament play, it's common for one teammate to call the score, even if they're not the one serving.

Continue playing until one player or team reaches 11 points or wins by 2 points. A typical game of pickleball is played to 11 points. However, if the leading player or team doesn't have at least a 2-point lead, the game continues. The match goes on until one side has a 2-point advantage.

• In tournament play, games may be extended to 15 or 21 points, especially for doubles matches.
• Most tournaments consist of multiple games, and to win a match, you need to win at least 2 out of 3 games ("best of three").

Announce "0 0 2" at the start of the game if you're serving first. The first serve always starts with the server position as "2" because the team serving first only gets one opportunity. This balances out the advantage of serving first. After the initial serve, your team gets two chances each time you're serving.

• Server numbers will change throughout the game. After the first serve, the player on the right side at the beginning of the service is server 1.
• Some players may simply say "start," since everyone knows the score at that point. It's fine to use this shorthand if you're comfortable with it.

Always start your serve from the right side of the court. This applies not only to the first serve of the game but also when a team serves after a side-out. If the serving team wins the point, the server switches to the left side. However, if the serving team commits a fault, service moves to the left side, but the players stay in the same positions.

Keep scoring as the serving team until you make a fault. After each point your team scores, you and your teammate switch sides. If your team commits a fault, the serve passes to your teammate, who then serves until your team faults again. Keep in mind, you and your teammate swap positions after every point you win.

• For instance, if you're the first server serving from the left and your team commits a fault, your teammate will serve from the right as the second server. No position change happens because you didn’t score.
• If your opponent faults while your teammate is serving from the right, your team earns a point, switches places, and your teammate serves from the left.

Announce "0 0" at the first serve of the game. When the game starts, both players have no points, so the score is 0-0. Some players simply say "start" instead of calling out the score, which is perfectly acceptable.

• Since 0 is an even number, it makes sense that the first serve in a singles game comes from the right side of the court.

Score points only while serving. In a singles game, you can score a point each time your opponent commits a fault. After every point, switch sides with your opponent to maintain the diagonal return. You’ll switch sides before serving each time you score a point.

• For example, if your opponent faults after you serve the first ball, you score 1 point. Since 1 is odd, you switch to the left side and serve again.
• In the second serve of the game, if your opponent faults, you score 2 points and switch to the right/even side. If you fault, it’s a side-out and your opponent will start serving from the right/even side.

Pass the serve to your opponent if you fault. If you fault, there’s no position change because no points have been scored. Your opponent doesn’t gain a point, but they take over the serve.

• For instance, if the score is 1-0 and you're serving from the left (because 1 is odd), committing a fault would result in a side-out. Your opponent will serve from the right side, announcing "0 1" before their serve.

Use the sides of the court to track your score. By consistently switching sides every time you score, you can easily keep track of your points, even in long matches. If you're serving from the right side, your score is even, and if you're serving from the left side, your score is odd.

• For example, when the game begins, you start by serving from the right side because your score is 0 (even). If your opponent fails to return the serve, you score 1 point and then switch to the left side, as your score is now odd.