How to Keep Score in Pickleball for Singles & Doubles Games

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Everything you need to know about keeping track of pickleball points

Co-authored by Jeremiah Thomas and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: May 14, 2024 Fact Checked

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Scoring in Pickleball

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Scores and Serving Positions

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Calling Pickleball Scores

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How many points to win?

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Expert Interview

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Pickleball is a great sport for staying active and having a little friendly competition, but the scoring rules can be a little confusing for a beginner. That's where we come in! Below, you'll find everything you need to know. We’ll cover how to gain points and call scores, how points affect your position on the court, and what it takes to win a game.

Things You Should Know

The serving team scores 1 point whenever the receiving team commits a fault. The receiving team doesn’t score points during a rally.
For a singles game, serve from the right side of the court if you have an even score and the left side of the court if you have an odd score.
In a doubles game, the first server starts on the right side of the court and alternates sides after each point. After a fault, the second teammate gets to serve.

Section 1 of 4:

Scoring in Pickleball

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The serving team scores 1 point if the receiving team commits a fault. Whether you’re playing pickleball in a singles or doubles game, only the serving team can earn points during a rally. Whenever the receiving team (or, the team that isn't serving) commits a fault, like if they hit the ball out of bounds or into the net, the serving team adds 1 to their score and a new rally starts. If the serving team commits a fault, the receiving team doesn’t earn points but the server switches. Other common faults include:^{[1]
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- Letting the ball bounce twice on the same side of the court
- Getting hit by the ball
- Hitting the ball from the non-volley zone before it bounces
- Making contact with the net

Section 2 of 4:

Scores and Serving Positions

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Singles: serve from the right if your score is even and the left if it’s odd For the first serve of the game and any time the server has an even number of points, they’ll serve the ball from the right side of their end of the court. Any time they have an odd number of points, they serve from the left side of the court instead.^{[2]
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- The receiver always stands diagonally across from the server. When the server has an even number of points, the receiver will be on the right side of their end of the court as well.
- When the server loses a rally or commits a fault, it causes a “side-out,” meaning that the other player on the opposite team becomes the server.
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Doubles: start service on the right and alternate sides after scoring Any time a team becomes the serving team, the player on the right side of the court serves the ball first. If the serving team scores a point on the rally, the players switch places so they serve from the other side of the court. If the serving team commits a fault, they don’t switch places and the second player on the team becomes the server. Once the serving team loses another rally, then service changes to the other team.^{[3]
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- At the start of a pickleball game, only one player on the serving team gets a chance to serve. The first time the serving team loses a rally or commits a fault, the other team gets the opportunity to serve.
- The receiving team never switches which side of the court they’re on.
- To easily remember what side of the court you should be standing on, the player who starts the game on the right side will always be on the right when their team has an even number of points.

Section 3 of 4:

Calling Pickleball Scores

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Say the server’s score followed by the receiver’s score before each rally. Players must announce the scores before every serve, or else it could result in a fault and loss of service. Always lead with the server’s score before saying the score of the receiver.^{[4]
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- Example: In a singles game, if the called score is 6-4, then the server has 6 points and the receiver has 4 points. If the server wins the point, they’ll say “7-4” before their next serve. If the server loses the rally, then the service switches sides and the other player will say “4-6.”
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Mention the server number after the teams’ scores in a doubles game. When a team becomes the serving team, the person currently on the right side of the court is server #1 and the person starting on the left is server #2. When a server calls the score, they’ll say their team’s score, then the receiving team’s score, and finally their server number. The first time the serving team loses a rally, server #2 gets the chance to serve.^{[5]
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- Example: If the called score is 5-8-1, then the serving team has 5 points, the receiving team has 8 points, and server #1 has the current serve. If they lose the current rally, then the second teammate gets a chance to serve and announces the score 5-8-2.
- The server number is always determined by who is on the right side of the court when a team first gains service. Even if a player was server #2 during their last service, they will become server #1 if they’re on the right side of the court the next time their team serves.
- Exception: Only one player from the serving team gets a chance to serve at the very start of the game, so they are considered server #2 when calling the score. For the first serve of the game, the called score is 0-0-2.

Section 4 of 4:

How many points do you need to win pickleball?

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You need 11 points and to be ahead by 2 points to win a match. Most pickleball games are only played until a team reaches a total of 11 points, but the team has to win by a margin of 2. If games have a close score, then players continue the game until someone has a 2-point lead.^{[6]
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- Example: If the score is 10-10, then the game would continue until a team takes a 2-point lead.
- Some pickleball tournaments may play until a team reaches 15 or 21 points instead. They may also play matches that are the best of 3 games.

Expert Q&A

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Is there any other scoring method in pickleball?

Jeremiah Thomas
Pickleball Expert
Jeremiah Thomas is a Pickleball Expert and the Founder of Doylestown Pickleball based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. With over 50 acres of facilities, Jeremiah and his team offer a wide variety of programming for kids looking to create, be active, and play on their dozens of courts and fields. Jeremiah is a certified PPR (Professional Pickleball Registry) instructor as well as a former college tennis player and instructor. He received his Bachelor of Education in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from Gwynedd Mercy University as well as a Master's in Educational Leadership and Administration from Delaware Valley University.

Jeremiah Thomas

Pickleball Expert

Expert Answer

There's also rally scoring, which operates by awarding a point to the side that wins each rally, regardless of who served. This means that even if the serving team loses the rally, the opposing team can still earn a point. The server changes after each point, irrespective of which team wins the rally.

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