Your serve sets the tone of every rally. Learn the pickleball serve rules to start strong and stay consistent.
The Basics of Serving
- Serve underhand, hitting the ball below your waist.
- The paddle must be moving upward at contact.
- Serve diagonally cross-court, landing beyond the non-volley zone line.
- Only one serve attempt is allowed (except in a let).
- You must be behind the baseline, within the side-lines, and have at least one foot on the playing surface at the moment you strike the ball.
Types of Serves:
- Volley Serve: Hit without bouncing the ball.
- Drop Serve: Let it bounce once before hitting.
Common Errors:
- Stepping on or past the baseline during the serve.
- Serving to the wrong side.
- Using a high or sidearm motion.
Montis Tip: Consistency comes from stability and practice. Master your serve, and you control the game. Practice makes perfect — and the right footwear supports every motion.
Which Team Serves First?
Deciding which team serves first is often personal preference. Some fair methods used by many are to flip a coin, spin a paddle or even play Rock Paper Scissors. If you are playing "winner stays" with multiple games, you can decide whether the winning team or the challenging team serves first.
Serving Rotation Basics
- At the very beginnning of the game, only one player on the first serving team serves before a side out. This is called the “First Server Exception.”
- To start the game, the score begins at 0-0-2. Meaning the score is 0 to 0 and the second server is serving first. This evens out the first-serve advantage.
- After the first fault (when the serving team loses the rally), service passes to the opposing team - this is known as the first side out.
- From that point on, both players on each team get to serve during their team’s turn to serve, which is called a “service inning”.
Here’s the sequence:
- When your team wins the serve (a side out), the player on the right-hand side of the court always serves first.
- That player continues serving (alternating sides each time they win a point) until their team commits a fault, losing the rally.
- Then, the second partner then serves from wherever they’re positioned.
- When both players have lost their serves, it’s another side out — and the serve moves to the other team.
Example:
Let’s say your team wins the serve back:
You’re on the right side, so you start the serve — that’s Server 1.
You win a few points, then fault (losing the rally).
Now your partner becomes Server 2 and serves from wherever they are.
After their fault, the serve goes to the opponents.
Quick Rule of Thumb: After every side out, the player on the right side of the court serves first — and they are Server 1 for that rotation.
