Pickleball for Beginners: Rules, Scoring & How to Start

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in India for a reason: it’s easy to learn, gentle on the body, and genuinely fun within minutes. If you’ve never played, here’s everything you need to walk onto a court and hold your own.

What is pickleball?

Pickleball is a paddle sport that blends tennis, badminton and table tennis. It’s played on a court about the size of a badminton court, with a lowered net, solid paddles, and a light perforated plastic ball. You can play singles (one v one) or doubles (two v two) — doubles is the most popular and the friendliest for beginners.

The basic rules

You only need a handful of rules to start playing:

• Serve underhand and diagonally. The serve is hit below the waist, cross-court, and must land in the opposite service box.
• The two-bounce rule. After the serve, the ball must bounce once on each side before anyone is allowed to hit it out of the air. This one rule shapes the whole game.
• Stay out of the kitchen. The non-volley zone (nicknamed “the kitchen”) is the 7-foot area next to the net — you can’t hit the ball out of the air while standing in it.
• Keep the ball in bounds and let the rally play out until someone faults.

How scoring works

Games are usually played to 11 points, win by 2. Here’s the part that confuses newcomers: only the servingside can score a point. In doubles the score is called as three numbers — your team’s score, the other team’s score, and whether you’re the first or second server (e.g. “4–2–1”). Don’t worry about memorising it; on your first day, a partner or our staff will call it for you.

What you need to start

• A paddle — lightweight and easy to control. Provided on-site, so you don’t need to buy one to try.
• A pickleball — the perforated plastic ball. Also provided.
• Court shoes — non-marking soles with good lateral grip. This is the one thing worth bringing yourself.
• Comfortable clothing — anything you’d wear to the gym.

Five tips for your first game

1. Get to the kitchen line. Most points are won at the net — move up as soon as you can.
2. Keep your serve deep to push your opponents back.
3. Learn the “third-shot drop” — a soft shot that lets you move up to the net safely. It’s the single most useful shot in the game.
4. Talk to your partner in doubles — call “mine” and “yours” early.
5. Relax and rally. Long rallies are the fun of pickleball; you don’t need to smash every ball.

Where to start in Pune

The best way to learn is on a proper court with someone to guide you. At Pickle & Cue Club in Mahalungewe run beginner-friendly sessions, provide the gear, and staff are happy to walk you through the basics — with snooker, pool and a café on-site for after. If you’re nearby, we also cover Balewadi, Baner and Hinjewadi. Check the hourly rates or book a court to get started.