Rule changes for 2025

By Mark Peifer - USA Pickleball Certified Referee; Former Chairman, USA Pickleball Rules Committee
​It’s that time of year again for those who like to follow what is new or different with Official Pickleball Rules. A short description of a few of the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook rule changes for 2025 follows.
 
The 2025 Official Change Document is back after a one-year hiatus for those who are more discriminating and desire additional detail. It shows the 46 rule changes, even the minor editorial changes, with highlighted text to make ‘seeing’ the change easier.  
It also provides a reason for the changes. What follows is perhaps sufficient to update you on seven changes you, as a player, are more likely to encounter.
 
Rally Scoring
​Those who follow rally scoring, know there is more than one way of playing rally-scoring doubles. After about two years of study, however, USA Pickleball has settled on a format for doubles rally scoring. As most know, a point is scored in each rally for all formats of rally scoring. What makes the USA Pickleball format for doubles rally scoring easy to learn is its simplicity and similarity to side-out scoring. The only differences from what we all know from side-out scoring are:
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  • Only one server serves at the beginning of a game or after a side-out. Just as in side-out scoring, that server keeps rotating back and forth between the right and left sides of the court with their serve until the receiving team wins a point and gets a side-out. The partner does not serve.

  • As a result, only two numbers are called for the score because there is no first or second server.

  • The winning point must be made on your serve.
 
This is a provisional rule; only the second time a rule has been given provisional status. That means it will be in place for a year, and after that, it will be evaluated to either continue as provisional, change, formally adopt, or remove it from play.

Post Match Penalty
If a tournament player does something after a match that rises to the level of a Verbal Warning, Technical Warning, or Technical Foul, the Tournament Director can apply that penalty to the offending player’s next match at the tournament. What is the most likely behavior that could result in this occurrence?  Someone throws a paddle after the match is over.

The Volley
The act of volleying no longer includes the swing of the paddle. Volleying now starts when the player hitting the volley makes contact with the ball. That doesn’t sound very meaningful, but it changes some Non-Volley Zone fault scenarios that were faults in the past but aren’t anymore. Please see Change Document #6 for more details.

Net Plane
Before 2025, the rule about a particular plane of the net fault was unclear. Recall that you can hit the 
ball, and your continuation from the shot can legally take you past the net plane. However, the rule was unclear whether your partner could cross the plane of the net on a shot you hit. The rule change clarifies that the continuation provision only applies to the player who hits the ball and is only associated with the current strike of the ball (not one or more shots previously).

Player Withdrawal
If a team or player either withdraws, retires, or is forfeited during a round robin format, three things now occur:

  • If there is no playoff, the match results will not count toward the standings of that round robin.

  • If there is a playoff, the match results will not count towards determining which teams advance to the playoff round.

  • In both cases above, the match results will, however, count toward the players’ rating.

Tie-Breakers
Round-robin tie-breaker procedures return to the method used in 2023 and earlier. This means that if three or more teams are tied in head-to-head results and the tie-breaker method becomes point differential, all teams will be ranked by point differential, and the medal winners or teams advancing to the medal round will be determined according to that ranking

Fault Calls
Any disagreement between you and your partner about fault calls will be decided to benefit your opponents. This change aligns with the rule about line calls; as most know, any disagreement between you and your partner about a line call is decided to the benefit of your opponents, i.e., the ball is ‘in.’ The same now applies to faults. Oh, and by the way, you are now expected, by rule, to call faults on your partner if, for some reason, they don’t call it on themselves.
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How to Play?

A pickleball court has the same outer dimensions as a badminton court.

Pickleball Rules
​(simplified)

General

Pickleball may be played by two players (singles), or four players (doubles), in Mens, Women's and  Mixed formats.

The same playing area and rules apply to both singles and doubles, for all formats.

​The most popular format is doubles... Mens doubles, Womens doubles or Mixed doubles.

Serve

Serves are initiated from behind the baseline, and made underhanded to the opposite receiving court.

​Serves landing short (in the kitchen) or long (past the baseline) are considered faults.

Only one serve is allowed. If the ball stakes the net and lands in the receiving court, it is a live ball and is no longer replayed.

Scoring

Points are scored only by the serving team. 

Games are normally played to 11 points, win by 2. Tournament games may be to 15 or 21, win by 2. 

​When the serving team’s score is even the first server will be in the right-side court when serving or receiving; and the odd the player will be in the left-side court when serving or receiving.

Non-Volley Zone

The non-volley zone or "kitchen" is an area within seven feet either side of the net. It is marked by a line on the front edge of the service court.

Players may enter the kitchen anytime, but can only return a ball from the kitchen AFTER it bounces in the kitchen. 
It is a fault, if the attacking player steps in the kitchen, or on a kitchen line, or their momentum carries them into the kitchen after a volley (shot returned from the air). 

Double Bounce

When a ball is served the receiving team must let it bounce before returning it, and the serving team must let it bounce a second time before making the third shot.

Once the ball has bounced once in each teams court, both team may either volley the ball (hit it in the air), or play it off a bounce (ground stroke).

The double bounce rule extends rallies.

Sequence of Play

In doubles, both players serve until their team commits a fault. After each point, the server switches court and serves again.

After the first fault, the second player serves. After the second fault, service goes to the other team (or side out).

The opposing team then repeats the process. First serve until fault, then second serve until fault, then side out.

Line Calls

A ball contacting any line, except the non-volley zone line on a serve, is considered “in.”

​A serve contacting the non-volley zone line is short and a fault.

Line calls are made by the team or player, who is on the side of the court where the ball in question lands.

First Service

Players use any fair method to determine who will serve first.

The winner has the option to choose side, or to serve or receive.

​In recreational play local players or clubs often designate a particular end of the court (e.g., north side) as the side to serve first.

Faults

A fault is any action that stops play because of a rule violation.

A fault by the receiving team results in a point for the serving team. A fault by the serving team results in the server’s loss of serve and side out if second server. 

Some of the more common faults are listed below:

Service Areas Explained

Many new players are unsure about the service area boundaries. Rule 3.A.19, explains the NVZ, and 4.A.8. clarifies the serve may land on "any service court line". These rules and corresponding boundaries are clearly illustrated below.
A fault occurs when:

  • The ball is hit into the net or out of bounds
  • A serve does not land within the confines of the receiving court
  • The ball is volleyed before a bounce has occurred on each side after the serve
  • A ball is volleyed from within the non-volley zone
  • A ball bounces twice before being struck by the receiver
  • A player, player’s clothing, or any part of a player’s paddle touches the net or the net post when the ball is in play
  • There is a violation of a service rule
  • A ball in play strikes a player or anything the player is wearing or carrying
  • A ball in play strikes any permanent object before bouncing on the court
  • The server serves before the referee calls the score in an officiated match