Paddle, pickleball, net, suitable court, and court shoes.

Yes! The proper court shoes are critical for gameplay. Not only do they impact performance but maintain court surfaces as well. Snag up a pair here.

No! Tennis and pickleball have very different movements and pressure points that impact your game. The correct pair of pickleball shoes can make all the difference.

A standard court is 20 ft wide × 44 ft long.

Only the serving side can score. Games typically go to 11 points in traditional scoring (win by 2). In doubles, score is called as three numbers: server score, receiver score, and server number. Check out a full blog post on How to Keep Score in Pickleball.

A 7-foot zone on either side of the net where you cannot volley (hit the ball before it bounces). Check out more on the Kitchen here.

You can enter (or remain in) the kitchen after the ball has bounced, or to play a dropped ball — but you cannot volley while in it.

After a serve, each side must let the ball bounce once before volleys are allowed. In other words, the returning team must allow the serve to bounce before returning it, and the serving team must then allow the return to bounce once as well before hitting the ball.

Faults include hitting out of bounds, volleying in the kitchen, failing to clear the net, or violating serving rules.

If the serve touches the net but still lands in the correct service box (excluding the kitchen line), it’s a “let” — the server gets to retry.

On the very first serve of the game, the serving team only gets one fault, technically starting with the second server (starting score: 0-0-2). After the first fault it is a side out. For all other serves during the game, after the first server’s fault, the second partner also serves. Once both have faulted, it's a side out — serve passes to the other team. More on serving here.

The obvious answer is, one-vs-one instead of two-vs-two. Differences include serving rotation, court coverage, scoring calls, and strategy. More details on Singles vs Doubles here.

No — if any part of your body or paddle touches the kitchen line or zone during a volley, it is a fault. Including follow through.

If the ball contacts any part of the line, it’s considered “in.” Calls must be made promptly after the ball lands. One exception is the kitchen line on a serve, which is considered "out." All other three lines in a service box are considered "in."

The kitchen line is considered "out" on a serve. The other three lines in a service box are considered "in."

Unintentional double hits within a single continuous motion toward the ball may be allowed; if done as separate strokes, it’s a fault.

You cannot use two paddles at once. In most cases, switching to another paddle mid-rally is not allowed.

If a player thinks the ball is cracked during a rally, play must continue until the rally is over. In the case there is no referee, if both teams also agree the ball is cracked, it may be replaced. If both teams agree the cracked ball impacted the previous rally, you may then replay the point.

An ATP, or around-the-post shot, is a legal shot where the ball travels outside the net and is hit around the post instead of over the net.

Yes, in formal play you must announce the full score before each serve.

Yes — if the ball bounces on your side and returns over to the opponent’s side due to spin, it’s playable as long as you do not touch the net and obey all other rules.

Technically, but you shouldn't! Movements are very different between the two sports and the pressure points in pickleball are very different. You need a pair of proper pickleball shoes to assure the proper lateral support.