01No-Volley Zone
The Kitchen
The area closest to the net. You cannot hit the ball in the air (volley) while standing here. It keeps the game social and prevents people from just smashing the ball at the net.
Quick-Start Rules
Pickleball in
3 rules.
These are the pickleball rules UK players need before their first session. Learn them and you won't look lost — everything else you'll pick up as you go.
02Two bounces before rallying
The Double Bounce
The ball must bounce once on each side before anyone can hit it out of the air. This slows the game down and makes it easier for beginners to keep a rally going.
03Not tennis
Underhand Serves
All serves are underhand. This isn't tennis — the serve is just to get the ball in play, not to win the point immediately.
Scoring
Scoring in 30 Seconds
Games go to 11 points, win by 2. Only the serving team scores. In doubles, both players on a team get to serve before the serve passes to the opponents — this is called a side-out. The score is called as three numbers before every serve: your score, their score, which server. So ‘4-2-1’ means serving team has 4, receiving team has 2, server 1 is serving.
Read the full scoring guide with examples →That's genuinely all you need. The scoring system takes about 5 minutes to learn once you're on court — don't stress it before you go.
Ready to find a court?
Our guide ranks every Nottingham venue by how easy it is to just show up and play.
View the Court Guide →