Pickleball serve rules: underhand volley serve, drop serve, foot position, faults

The serve is the only shot in pickleball with its own rules on technique. Learning it right from the start saves faults in tournaments.

Where to serve

• Serve diagonally into the opposite service court.
• The ball must clear the kitchen. Landing in the kitchen or on the kitchen line is a fault.
• Landing on the centerline, sideline or baseline of the service court is in.

Two legal serves

1. Volley serve (underhand)

• Hit the ball before it bounces.
• Swing in an upward arc.
• Contact below the waist.
• At contact, the paddle head is no higher than the wrist.

2. Drop serve

• Drop the ball from your hand, let it bounce, then hit it.
• Just drop it: no tossing or throwing it down to add bounce.
• The swing and height requirements above do not apply to the drop serve.

Where to stand

• At least one foot behind the baseline.
• At contact, neither foot touches the baseline or the court.
• Stay within the imaginary extensions of the centerline and sideline, on the correct side for the score (doubles: right when the serving score is even, left when odd).

Net serves

A serve that clips the net and lands in the correct court is in play, with no replay. Wrong court or kitchen is a fault.

Common serving faults

Fault	Why
Ball lands in or on the kitchen line	The serve must clear the kitchen
Stepping on the baseline	Feet must be behind the line
Contact above the waist	Illegal volley serve
Tossing the ball before a drop serve	The drop serve must be a drop
Wrong server or wrong court	Check the score before serving

Call the score first

In doubles, call the three-number score before every serve, e.g. 4-2-1. See pickleball doubles scoring. On DinkDink, the app calls the score and shows the server and side for the referee at app.dinkdink.asia.