Setting the Tone: How to Serve in Pickleball for Beginners‍

The serve is the spark that ignites every point in pickleball. It’s the one shot where you hold complete control, setting the tone for what’s to come. But once the ball leaves your paddle, the game transforms into a combination of strategy and spontaneity—and anything can happen.

Learning to play and serve in pickleball is similar in many ways. When you pick up a paddle for the first time, you take the initial step down a path that can lead to unexpected places, including new friendships, a healthier lifestyle, and a whole lot of fun. 

Sure, you might hit a serve into the net every now and then, but taking the initiative to learn new skills opens the door to connecting with others in brand-new ways. 

While an expert serve can take months or even years to develop, beginners who are just learning how to serve in pickleball only need to think about 2 simple things:

1. Following the serving rules
2. Getting their serve in

That’s it! Learning to hit a legal, consistent serve will unlock the excitement of full pickleball points. This guide will teach you the rules and steps you need to know to confidently start points and initiate the action. 

Once you’ve mastered the basics of serving, check out the 11 PICKLES content library for more pickleball coaching tips, as well as updates on pickleball culture, gear reviews, and inspiring stories from the pickleball community. Whether you’re just learning how to play pickleball or you’re looking for ways to take your game to the next level, we’re here to help you live and play the game of pickleball.

Understanding the Pickleball Court

It’s nearly impossible to learn the pickleball 101 rules of serving without understanding the different areas of the pickleball court.

"For a complete overview of pickleball court rules, including what counts as 'in' or 'out,' visit our comprehensive guide on Pickleball Rules for Dummies."

While the entire court comes into play during full points, a few special lines and areas play a key role in serving.

"One of the most essential strategies for dominating near the kitchen is dinking. Learn what is dinking in pickleball and how mastering this soft shot can elevate your game."
"To master the full game, you’ll also want to familiarize yourself with all the essential rules. Check out our guide on pickleball-rules-for-dummies to make sure you’re ready to serve like a pro."

The Baseline and Centerline

The baseline is the line furthest away from and running parallel to the net. You’ll hit your serve with both feet behind the baseline. 

The centerline is the line that runs towards the net from the center of the baseline. If it were to continue through the net, it would split it in half. When you hit your serve, you’ll either stand left or right of where the centerline connects with the baseline.

The Service Areas

The centerline divides the rear portions of the court into the left and right service areas. They’re the 2 boxes at the back of each side of the court, and together they make up about ⅔ of the court. 

These are your targets when hitting your serve. If you’re serving from the left side of the centerline, you’re aiming for the right service box. If you’re serving from the right side of the centerline, you guessed it, your goal is to serve into the left service box. You’re always serving into the service box diagonally across from the side you’re serving from.

The Kitchen

The kitchen, or non-volley zone, makes up the ⅓ of the court closest to the net. 

Serves cannot land in the kitchen, and unlike the rest of the lines on a pickleball court, the kitchen line, which divides it from the service areas, is considered a part of the kitchen. Serves that hit the kitchen line are out!

For a full explanation of the pickleball court’s dimensions, lines, and areas, read Pickleball Kitchen Rules: Complete Guide to Non-Volley Zone Violations

How the Pickleball Scoring Works

It’s not as complicated as it sounds.

Games are normally played to 11, win by 2. That means a game doesn’t end if it’s scored 11-10. It will end once a team goes up by 2 points.

Only the serving team can score. The returning team's goal is to prevent the serving team from winning points and scoring.

Doubles scores are communicated in a 3-number format. The first number is your team’s score. The second is your opponent’s score. The third number states whether you’re the first or second member of your team to serve (more on this coming).

Pickleball Rules 101

While we won’t get into every rule of pickleball in this article, it’s essential to know the most important rules of the game to understand the ones specific to serving. 

Pickleball is played one-on-one (AKA singles) or 2-on-2 (doubles). Doubles is the most commonly played version, and the 2 versions have slightly different rules and strategies.

Every point begins with one team serving to the other. The goal of each point is to hit the ball over the net and into the opposing team’s side of the court before the ball bounces twice on your side.

The serve and return have to bounce once before they are hit back over the net. After those 2 shots, balls can be hit out of the air or after bouncing once.

Each point is played until a shot hits the net or lands outside the boundary of the court. When this happens, the team that hit the errant shot loses the point. 

If a ball bounces twice on one side of the net, the team that failed to return the shot loses the point.

Shots that hit a line are considered in. As are shots that clip the net but still land within the lines on the correct side of the net.

Each team can only hit the ball once before the ball travels to their opponent’s side. If the ball is hit twice, the opposing team receives a point.

Players have to stay out of the kitchen (or non-volley zone) to hit a ball unless the ball bounces in the kitchen. If a player enters the kitchen when they aren’t allowed to, the opposing team wins the point. If a player legally enters the kitchen to hit a shot, they have to exit the kitchen before hitting their next shot. 

It’s common for beginners to struggle with the concept of the kitchen. For a full low-down on kitchen rules, check out Pickleball Kitchen Rules: Complete Guide to Non-Volley Zone Violations.

If a player’s body is hit by a shot, they lose the point. And a little dignity.

Pickleball Serving Rules for Beginners

Now that you’re familiar with the layout of the court, the scoring system, and the basic rules of the game, you’re ready to learn the rules of serving. 

For the purpose of this guide, we’re going to assume you’re playing doubles (2-on-2), but singles games follow the same serving rules. Let’s get into it!

Serving ProcedureTeams take turns serving. The serving team’s turn continues as long as they keep winning points.

Both team members serve during their team’s turn. When the first server loses a point, the second member of the team serves. This is why the third number exists in the 3-number scoring format—it helps everyone keep track of who has served and who hasn’t. 

Once both members of the serving team have been beaten, the other team gets to serve. The serving team is the only team that can score points, so the goal is to keep serving as long as possible.

‍When the serve passes from one team to another, the teammate currently on the right side of the court will serve first—no matter what order they served in the last time they held serve.

The first teammate to serve will do so from the right side of the centerline. The side of the centerline they serve from will alternate every point until they lose a point.

Serving Positioning

When the server hits their serve, they must be completely behind the baseline and to one side of the centerline. They cannot step foot on or beyond the baseline or extended centerline until they’ve hit their serve.

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The server can’t hit their serve with both feet beyond the sideline. If the server hits their serve from an illegal position, the opposing team can call a “foot fault,” and the server loses their turn.

Hitting a Legal Serve

The server can either drop and hit the ball out of the air or drop and bounce the ball once before hitting it, but they must hit the ball with an upwards, underhand motion. Overhand serves, like the kind commonly hit in tennis, are not allowed.

The serve has to travel over the net without touching it and land in the opposite diagonal service area. If the ball touches the net but still lands in the service area, the server gets to hit the serve again. This is called a “let.”

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The serve can touch any line on the court except the kitchen line. If a serve bounces on the kitchen line, it’s considered out.

The returning team has to allow the serve to bounce before hitting it back. If they hit the serve without allowing it to bounce, it’s the serving team’s point.

The server only has one chance to hit a legal serve. There are no “faults” in pickleball. If a serve hits the net or lands out, the server loses their turn to serve.

Common Questions About Pickleball Serves

Q: Can I bounce the ball before serving?

A: Yes! Bouncing the ball before serving can make hitting your serve easier. The only extra rule for hitting a “bounce serve,” as it’s called, is the bounce has to be neutral, meaning you have to simply drop the ball—you can’t spin it or throw it against the ground to generate a bigger bounce. The bounce can be inside the baseline as long as your feet remain behind the baseline.

Q: Do I get multiple tries to get my serve in?

A: Unlike in tennis, you only have one chance to get your serve in, otherwise, you lose your serve.

Q: Can I serve overhand like I do in tennis?

A: No—also unlike in tennis, serves in pickleball have to be hit in an underhand, upward motion, and contact with the ball has to be made below the waste. 

Q: What happens if my serve hits the net?

A: If your serve hits the net and lands outside the playing area, in the kitchen (AKA the non-volley zone), or on your side of the net, you lose your serve. However, if the ball hits the net and then lands in the correct service box on your opponent’s side of the net, you get a do-over or a “let.” As long as your next serve is in, all is forgiven!

Q: Can my serve land in the kitchen?

A: Serves that land in the kitchen or hit the kitchen line are considered out, and the player who hit the serve loses their serve. 

Q: Is my serve in if it hits other lines?

A: Your serve is in if it hits any line except the kitchen line. All lines in pickleball are considered in but serves can’t land in the kitchen, hence the kitchen line’s special status.

Hitting a Pickleball Serve

It’s time to get the action started!

Getting Ready

1. Stand behind the baseline, on the side of the court diagonally across from the one you’re serving to.

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2. Point your front foot roughly in the direction you want to serve.
3. Adjust your paddle grip to a continental grip.

Hitting Your Serve

1. Always start your serve by calling out the score of the game (backlink to scoring section). This ensures that everyone is aware of and agrees on the score.
2. Hold the ball out in front of you with your non-paddle hand. Keep your arm straight for a more consistent drop.
3. Load up your serve by swinging your paddle arm backward in an underhand motion. For a straighter serve, try to keep the path of your backswing in line with your swing.
4. Swing your paddle forward in an underhand, upward motion to either hit the falling ball out of the air or allow the ball to bounce on the ground first. The ball can bounce within the baseline as long as your feet stay behind the baseline.
5. Follow through the contact with the ball, finishing your serve with your paddle pointing towards your target.

Advanced Serving Techniques

Once you’ve mastered the basic “just get it in” serve and are consistently playing points, you might decide you’re ready to add a little spice to your serve. 

There’s a higher risk of hitting advanced serves out, but if you get them in, they’ll help you take control of a point early (and impress your friends). 

There are 3 main types of advanced serves: 

• Lob Serves
• Angled Serves
• Power Serves

Lob Serves

Lob serves are hit higher and land closer to the baseline than standard serves. To hit a lob serve:

1. Position yourself the same way you would if you were hitting a standard serve.
2. Follow the steps for hitting a normal serve, but hit the ball higher.
3. After swinging through the ball, finish with your paddle pointed over, rather than at, your target.

Angled Serves

Angled serves are serves that are hit as close as possible to the sidelines. The best angled serves take your opponent by surprise. 

To hit an angled serve:

1. Position yourself in either your standard serving position or slightly closer to the centerline than normal. This will give you a better angle to hit your serve out wide.
2. Follow the steps for hitting a normal serve, but try to hit your serve so it bounces out the side of the service area rather than straight back to where your opponent is standing. 

Power Serves

Power serves are hit harder than standard serves. 

To hit a power serve:

1. Position yourself in your standard serving position.
2. Follow the steps for hitting a normal serve, but prior to swinging through the ball, twist your body more aggressively to generate additional torque. 
3. While swinging through the ball, push off your back foot to drive the ball across the net with extra power. Your foot may come off the ground in the process of hitting a power serve—that’s okay!

Advantages of Advanced Serves

Each type of advanced serve gives you a specific advantage over your opponent:

Lob Serve

• Prevents your opponent from hitting an aggressive return shot
• Puts added pressure on the return shot

Angled Serve

• Makes your opponent’s return harder
• Forces your opponent out of position

Power Serve

• Challenges your opponent to react quickly
• Improves the odds of your opponent making a mistake

Drills for Practicing Your Serve

Serves are the only shots in pickleball that you have full control over. This applies to training your serve too. If you want to improve your serve, you can do so all on your own! 

While practicing with a friend or 2 is a lot more fun, you can build the consistency of your serve on your own with the following drills.

Wall Drill

The beautiful thing about this drill is you don’t even need a pickleball court to do it. All you need is:

• A wall
• Pickleball paddle
• At least one pickleball
• Tape or sidewalk chalk

To complete the drill:

1. With the tape or chalk, make an X or box on the wall, approximately 4 to 6 feet off the ground. The bigger the mark, the easier the drill will be.
2. Stand about 20 feet back from the wall. A standard pickleball court is exactly 22 feet from the net to the baseline. If you can mark out that exact distance, congratulations! You get bonus points.
3. Practice hitting your serve in a fluid motion, aiming for the mark on the wall. See how many times in a row you can hit the mark!

This is a great drill for building groundstroke consistency too. Read How to Keep the Ball Low in Pickleball to learn how to use the wall rally drill to improve your groundstrokes.

"If you’re looking to refine your kitchen play further, check out what is dinking in pickleball to master one of the most effective soft game strategies."

Cone Drill 

For this drill, you will need a pickleball court, but the cones are optional. Required equipment includes:

• Pickleball court
• Pickleball paddle
• At least 3 pickleballs
• Cones or tape

To complete the drill:

1. Use cones or tape to create a target in the service area.
2. Position yourself behind the opposite baseline, and hit your serve, aiming for the target.
3. As you get more comfortable and hit your target more consistently, try out some advanced serving techniques. Try to hit your target with a lob, angled, or power serve.

Want more ideas to improve your game outside of the court? Check out our guide on pickleball at home for creative ways to practice and take your skills to the next level.

Build Your Game — and a Community

Improving your pickleball game can be a lifetime journey. Now that you know the basics of serving, keep the momentum going by reading How to Be Good at Pickleball. 

Or, better yet, find someone to play with and get out there! There’s absolutely no substitute for playing experience, but it’s important to play with people who are at similar points in their pickleball journeys as you are. To learn your skill level, consider getting your DUPR rating. It will help you find similarly rated players who you can grow alongside.

Learning the fundamentals of pickleball is only the beginning. Join a like-minded community of pickleball enthusiasts on a mission to build healthy lifestyles and have fun by signing up for the 11 PICKLES waitlist. You’ll be the first to hear about new coaching guides, gear reviews, and profiles of incredible pickleballers, plus an exciting new clothing line designed by the team here at 11 Pickles. 

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