Pickleball faults: every way to lose a rally

A fault ends the rally immediately. If your side serves and faults, you lose the serve. If you are receiving and fault, the serving side scores. Here is the complete list.

Service faults

• The serve lands in the non-volley zone, or on the kitchen line
• The serve lands outside the correct service court
• The serve lands in the net
• Contact above waist level on a volley serve
• Paddle head above the wrist at contact on a volley serve
• The serving motion is not clearly upward
• A foot touching the baseline or court at contact
• Serving from the wrong position
• Spinning the ball with the hand before striking it
• Throwing or propelling the ball down on a drop serve

Non-volley zone faults

• Volleying while touching the zone or its lines
• Momentum from a volley carrying you into the zone
• Anything you wear or carry landing in the zone during the volley
• A partner holding you up to keep you out of the zone

Two-bounce rule faults

• The receiving team volleys the serve instead of letting it bounce
• The serving team volleys the return instead of letting it bounce

Rally faults

• Hitting the ball into the net
• Hitting the ball out of bounds
• Letting the ball bounce twice on your side
• The ball striking a player or anything they are wearing or carrying, other than the paddle hand below the wrist
• A player, their clothing or their paddle touching the net or posts while the ball is live
• Hitting the ball before it crosses to your side of the net
• Catching or carrying the ball on the paddle
• Double-hitting the ball deliberately

Things people think are faults but are not

• A serve clipping the net and landing correctly. This is played, not a let.
• Standing in the kitchen. Only volleying from it is a fault.
• Your paddle crossing over the net on the follow-through, as long as you struck the ball on your own side and do not touch the net.
• Hitting the ball around the net post — the "Around The Post" shot. Perfectly legal, and it does not have to clear net height.
• A ball hitting your paddle hand below the wrist. That counts as the paddle.
• Switching sides with your partner mid-rally. There are no positional requirements once the rally is live.

Line calls

A ball touching any line is in, except a serve on the non-volley zone line. In recreational play you call the balls on your own side. The convention — and it is a strong one — is that if you are not certain the ball was out, it was in.

After a fault

If the serving side faults: no point, and the serve passes to the partner or the opposing team. If the receiving side faults: the serving team scores a point, the server switches sides, and serves again.