The Court

One of the basics to playing the game is to understand the rules. In order to grasp the rules, you must understand the court and what all those crazy lines mean.

The court is divided into 2 halves by a net. The sidelines and baselines form the outer perimeter where balls must land to remain in play. Balls landing on or inside these lines are in-bounds. Balls landing outside these lines are out of bounds.

The Service Center Line is a factor only when serving. The serve is made from behind the Baseline. The server hits the ball diagonally from one side of the Center Line across the court and over the net as shown below with Player A serving to Player B. The serve must land in the green area or on the Baseline, Sideline, and Service Center Line. The serve must land past the Non-Volley Zone Line or it is out of bounds. The Non-Volley Zone Line is the only line that is considered out of bounds and it is only a factor on serves.

The lines also serve as guides for where the server’s feet may be when making the serve. The server must be behind the Baseline and between the extended lines made by the Service Center Line and the Sideline. The foot positions shown in black are allowed and the foot positions shown in red are not allowed.

One area of the court remains unexplained – the Non-Volley Zone (commonly called the “Kitchen”). The name of this area explains the purpose. No player may be in this “Zone” while making a volley. A player may enter this area to play a ball only after it bounces on the court. For purposes of understanding the court, the Non-Volley Zone Line is part of the Non-Volley Zone, i.e., the player hitting the ball must not allow his feet to touch the line or the Zone during and after a volley.

A short video called Basic Pickleball Rules from Norm Davis is below to explain some of these concepts.

Now…get out on the court and Let’s Play Pickleball.