One thing's for sure – if you play pickleball, not every shot will go as planned. Maybe a drive sails over the baseline, or a serve slams into the net.
These are just two examples of pickleball faults, but there are many you might not have considered before. In this article, I'll help you understand some of the most common pickleball faults to avoid and win more points on the court.
What causes a fault?
A fault in pickleball is any shot or player movement that breaks the rules – and pickleball has many. Faults can happen at any point during a game, and they cause an immediate stop in play.
In games played with standard pickleball scoring, when the serving team faults, they lose the serve. When the receiving team faults, the serving team wins a point. In pickleball rally scoring, like in Major League Pickleball, a fault results in a point, regardless of which team is serving.
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Common fault types
The three most common faults in pickleball are:
- Hitting the ball into the net or out of bounds.
- When the serving team volleys the first return of serve instead of letting it bounce (i.e. the two-bounce rule).
- Hitting the ball out of the air while you're standing in the non-volley zone (NVZ).
Hitting the ball into the net or out of bounds is easy to understand. The other two most common faults directly relate to pickleball's unique rules.
Learn more about the pickleball non-volley zone (or "kitchen").
Put simply, the "two-bounce rule" states that the serving team must wait for the return of serve to bounce on their side of the court before hitting the ball.
This rule helps to make pickleball fair for both the serving and returning teams, ensuring neither side can race to the net and volley the serve or first return of serve. After the second bounce, either team can hit a volley.
Another important rule is around the non-volley zone (NVZ). Also known as the "kitchen", this is the seven-foot area on either side of the net. This rule makes it a fault to hit the ball out of the air (i.e. volley) while standing in the kitchen. It's perfectly legal to hit a volley from behind the NVZ line or step into the NVZ to return a ball that bounces in the kitchen.
Service faults
The pickleball serve is the one shot that you have 100% control over. It's your chance to take control of a rally and score. So, it's critical that your serve is legal. Some of the most common service faults include:
- Foot fault: when serving, you must stand behind the baseline. If your toe grazes the baseline or your momentum causes you to touch or step over it, that's a fault, and you lose the serve. Try hitting your serve 6-12 inches behind the baseline to avoid faulting.
- Standing out of bounds: beginner players often stand at the far end of the service line. However, if their feet go beyond the sideline, they're serving from out of bounds, which is a fault.
- Serving into the wrong service box: your serve must land in the service box diagonally opposite you. If you're serving from the right side, your serve must land in the receiving team's right-side serving box. If the ball lands in the proper box and catches the service line, baseline, or clips the top of the net, it's still a valid serve. You can greatly reduce your serving errors by aiming for the middle of the serving box where there's more room for error, rather than going for a high-risk ace down the line.
- Improper serving motion: the serve must be an underhand motion. You must make contact with the ball at waist level, and the paddle head must be below your wrist. Many beginners think they're serving correctly, but are actually hitting the ball with a side swing. A good tip to remember is that your serve should have the same motion as tossing a ball underhand.
- Drop serve faults: in order for a drop serve to be legal, the ball must be dropped from a natural height. You can't toss the ball or whip it onto the court. Gravity must be the only thing that causes the ball to drop. Also, the ball can only bounce once on a drop serve. Any more and that's also a fault.
- Spinning the ball: while it's perfectly legal to hit a topspin serve or a serve with side spin, the pickleball spin serve is banned. That's when you pre-spin the ball in your hand or on the paddle before serving. Serves like Zane Navratil's "Chainsaw" (which uses the paddle as leverage to generate spin) are illegal and result in a fault.
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Non-volley zone faults
You know that you can't volley while standing in the NVZ, but the pickleball kitchen rules outline more NVZ faults:
- Momentum can cause a fault: just like on the serve, if you volley the ball while standing behind the kitchen line, but your momentum carries you into the NVZ, it's a fault.
- Other objects in the NVZ: it's a fault if your hat, sunglasses, paddle, or hand touch the NVZ while volleying the ball, even if you're correctly positioned behind the kitchen line.
In rally faults
A number of faults can stop the action while the ball is in play:
- Single bounce: you can hit the ball out of the air or let it bounce, but if it bounces more than once, it's a fault.
- Hitting the net post: if the ball hits the net post, that's also a fault.
- Touching the net: you can step into the NVZ to hit a ball that bounces, but make sure you don't touch the net. This includes anything you're wearing, like your shirt, hat, or sneakers, as well as your paddle.
- Hitting the ball with anything other than your paddle: your paddle hand can hit the ball as long as it's below the wrist. However, it's a fault if the ball hits your shoulder, foot, forehead, or any other body part.
- Double hits, sometimes: have you ever mishit a ball, and it bounces twice on your paddle before going over the net? A single, continuous stroke is a legal shot, but it's a fault to hit the ball to your partner or "dribble" the ball on your paddle.
- Catching the ball: this is common in rec play. A serve or drive is clearly going long or out of bounds and a player catches the ball before it bounces. This is, unfortunately, a fault. Always let the ball bounce so you're 100% sure it's out of bounds.
- Permanent structures: many of us play pickleball on gym floors that feature basketball hoops and lights. If your ball hits one of these permanent objects, it's a fault.
- Hitting the ball before it's on your side of the net: this might seem like an odd one, but hitting an erne involves jumping over the corner of the kitchen to volley a ball out of the air. However, if you hit the ball before it crosses the net, it's a fault. On the rare occasion when a ball bounces on your side of the net and then spins back over to your opponent's side, you can reach over the net to hit it. But don't touch the net, or it's a fault.
Bottom line
Pickleball's unique rules were established to ensure good sportsmanship and fair play. Some violations are easy to understand, while others are harder to call.
The best way to commit fewer faults is to practice and drill so your shots become more consistent. You'll learn which shots you're confident in hitting and which are riskier.
Try to go for higher-percentage shots in the middle of the court rather than difficult put-aways. I like to remind myself to hit "one more shot" to keep the rally going and let my opponent make a fault.
If you have the time, learn the full range of USA Pickleball rules. You'll also pick up the rules as you go along, which can be the quickest way to learn.
Let us know if there are any pickleball rules and faults you'd like to change. How do you handle faults in rec play? Do you let a beginner hit a second serve? We'd love to hear from you.
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