Pickleball rules: simple guide to avoiding 7 mistakes

Updated on 11 September 2026.

This guide is for the traveller passing through Koh Samui who wants to try pickleball during their stay, on a day pass or a one-off booking, without signing up for anything. Pickleball rules are the one thing worth reading before your first game, because the sport becomes easy the moment you know the handful of rules that actually matter.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing racket sport, played on a court smaller than tennis with a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball. On Koh Samui it is still a newcomer, and dedicated courts are genuinely rare on the island. Shi Shi Samui, our premium sports and leisure club in Lamai, is preparing dedicated pickleball courts right now, and this guide explains the rules so you can step on court and enjoy your first game the moment they open.

In this guide

• The court and the net
• The serve: underhand and diagonal
• The two-bounce rule
• The kitchen: the non-volley zone
• How scoring works
• Singles vs doubles
• Faults, simply put
• 7 beginner mistakes to avoid
• Pickleball rules at a glance
• How we are preparing pickleball at Shi Shi Samui
• Frequently asked questions

The court and the net

According to the USA Pickleball 2025 official rulebook, a pickleball court measures 20 feet by 44 feet, the same for singles and doubles. That is roughly the size of a badminton court and noticeably smaller than a tennis court, which is part of why the game is so welcoming to beginners.

The net hangs 36 inches high at the sidelines and dips to 34 inches in the middle. You do not need much kit to start: a solid paddle, a perforated plastic ball and a pair of trainers. At Shi Shi Samui, paddles and balls will be available to rent on site, so you can turn up without buying anything.

The court has one feature that shapes the whole game, and it is the part most first-timers get wrong: a seven-foot zone on each side of the net called the non-volley zone, known to everyone as the kitchen. We will come back to it, because it is the rule that decides most beginner points.

The serve: underhand and diagonal

Every rally starts with an underhand serve. You strike the ball below your waist, with the paddle moving upward, and the ball must clear the net and land in the diagonal service box on the other side. There is no overhead serve and no bounce-then-hit: the ball is struck from the air, softly, to start the point.

The serve is always played diagonally. If your score is even you serve from the right-hand side, and if it is odd you serve from the left. The receiving side simply lets the ball bounce and plays it back.

Because the serve is underhand and gentle, it is not a weapon the way it can be in tennis. It exists to start the rally fairly, which is why pickleball points are longer and more social from the very first shot.

The two-bounce rule

This is the golden rule of pickleball and the one worth memorising before anything else. After the serve, the receiving side must let the ball bounce once, and the serving side must also let the return bounce once. Only after those two bounces can either team start volleying the ball out of the air.

The two-bounce rule is what slows the game down and makes it accessible. It prevents the serving team from sprinting to the net and smashing the return, so a first-timer plays real rallies instead of being punished for not reacting fast enough.

If you remember one thing from this guide, make it this: let the ball bounce before you volley, on both sides of the opening exchange.

The kitchen: the non-volley zone

The kitchen is the seven-foot zone on each side of the net. You may not volley the ball, in other words hit it out of the air, while standing inside the kitchen or on its line. You can step into the kitchen, and you can play a ball that has already bounced there, but you may not hit it on the full.

This one rule changes the shape of every rally. It stops players from camping at the net and smashing, so points are won with placement and patience rather than power. Most of the sport's strategy, the soft shots called dinks and the constant movement at the net, exists because of the kitchen.

The two classic kitchen faults are volleying from inside the zone, and letting your momentum carry you into the kitchen after you have volleyed. If you are moving forward to hit a volley, your feet must be behind the line when you strike, and they must stay out when you land.

How scoring works

According to the Global Pickleball Federation 2025 rulebook, a game is played to 11 points, won by two, with only the serving side able to score. That last part is the twist that confuses every newcomer: if you are receiving and you win a rally, you do not get a point, you win the serve, which is called a side-out.

Because only the serving side scores, the score is always called in a specific order, the serving team first and the receiving team second. In doubles you add a third number, the server number, so a score of 4-2-1 means the serving team has four, the receiving team has two, and the first server is on.

To win you must both reach 11 and be two points clear, so a game can run past 11 to 12-10, 13-11 and beyond.

Singles vs doubles

The rules stay exactly the same whether you play singles or doubles. The only real difference is how the score is called and how the serve rotates.

In singles you play one against one, the score is called as two numbers, and you serve from the right when your score is even and the left when it is odd. In doubles each side gets two servers, and the serve only passes to the other team once both have served. The very first server of a doubles game serves alone, which is why the opening score is often called 0-0-2, to keep the serving order fair.

For a visitor trying the game on holiday, doubles is the natural place to start: it is more social, less running, and partners rotate quickly.

Faults, simply put

A fault ends the rally and hands the point to the other side, or the serve, depending on who was serving. The ones you will meet most often are:

• Hitting the ball into the net or out of bounds.
• Volleying from inside the kitchen or on its line.
• Breaking the two-bounce rule by volleying too early.
• Serving into the kitchen, out of bounds or above the waist.
• Stepping on the baseline while serving.
• Touching the net or the net post with your body or paddle.

You do not need to memorise the full rulebook to play. Learn the kitchen and the two-bounce rule, and you will already avoid nine faults out of ten.

7 beginner mistakes to avoid

Every one of these mistakes comes from the rules above, and every one is easy to fix once you know what to look for.

1. Volleying from the kitchen. New players step into the zone to reach a short ball and hit it out of the air, which is a fault every time. If the ball is going to land in the kitchen, let it bounce.
2. Rushing the net too early. You volley before the two bounces have happened, and give away the point.
3. Serving overhand. The serve must be underhand and struck below the waist, every time.
4. Serving into the kitchen. A short serve lands in the non-volley zone and is a fault, so aim deep and diagonal.
5. Smashing everything. The kitchen rewards soft, patient shots, not power, so resist the urge to hit every ball hard.
6. Forgetting that only the serving side scores. If you are receiving, a won rally earns the serve, not a point.
7. Losing track of the score. Call the score out loud before every serve, as the rules encourage, and you will never lose your place.

Pickleball rules at a glance

Rule	What it means
Court	20 feet by 44 feet, the same for singles and doubles
Net	36 inches at the sides, 34 inches in the middle
Serve	Underhand, below the waist, played diagonally
Two-bounce rule	Each side lets the ball bounce once before volleying
Kitchen	Seven-foot zone each side of the net, no volleying inside it
Scoring	First to 11, win by two, only the serving side scores
Singles	One against one, serve right on even, left on odd
Doubles	Two servers per side, three numbers in the score

The full rules live in the official USA Pickleball rulebook, and the Global Pickleball Federation rulebook mirrors the same game for international play.

How we are preparing pickleball at Shi Shi Samui

We are building dedicated pickleball courts in Lamai, which means courts lined and equipped for the sport, not a tennis court borrowed for an hour. Dedicated courts are still uncommon on the island, and that is exactly what we are preparing.

When the courts open, we will have paddles and balls to rent on site, so you can arrive with nothing and still play. We are planning beginner clinics and open play, because the rules above are best learned on court, in the middle of a real game, rather than from a page.

Our club is open to members and day visitors alike, and we see pickleball the same way we see the rest of Shi Shi Samui: a place where residents get a regular game and travellers get one memorable hour on holiday. That is why we wrote this guide, so your first game feels easy from the first serve.

To see the courts and find out how to play, head to our pickleball club page, and for rates and memberships, visit our prices page. Once the courts open, you will be able to check availability on our book-now page.

Frequently asked questions

What are the basic rules of pickleball?

The basic rules are the court and the net, the underhand diagonal serve, the two-bounce rule, the kitchen and scoring to 11 with a two-point lead, where only the serving side scores. Learn those five and you can play a legal game.

What are the 5 rules of pickleball?

The five essentials are: serve underhand and diagonally, let the ball bounce once on each side before volleying, never volley from the kitchen, play to 11 and win by two, and only score when you are serving. Everything else is detail you can pick up on court.

What is the golden rule in pickleball?

The golden rule is the two-bounce rule: after the serve, each side must let the ball bounce once before anyone volleys. It slows the game down and is the main reason pickleball is so accessible to beginners.

Can you ever step in the kitchen in pickleball?

Yes. You can stand in the kitchen and you can play a ball that has bounced inside it. The only thing you cannot do is volley, hit the ball out of the air, while standing in the kitchen or on its line.

Do I need to be a member to play pickleball in Koh Samui?

No. Shi Shi Samui will be open to members and day visitors alike, so you can play a one-off game during your holiday without signing up for a membership. See our prices page for the options.

Photo: Lindsey Flynn (Pexels). Photo: Mason Tuttle (Pexels).