url : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie94oOMh-Po

Introduction

 Although this sport was created for recreational purposes to keep the family kids busy at Bainbridge island, it came to my life when my parents started playing with me at the age of 5. Pickleball has been trending for the last few years because of its ease of playing, suitability, and joyful experience. What about the scoring system? When you are competing with each other, that’s when the scoring comes to picture. Professional tournaments include a proper scoring system. 

Winning a game: Each team or all players have to play till 11 points and the win is declared with a margin of 2 points. 

1. Understanding The Basics
   

    When I started playing the game the biggest confusion that I had was about the scoring system. I couldn’t figure it out. Then my father literally sat with a whiteboard with all of us and described it to all of us and that is the same process which I will use to describe it to you.
   Today, we will learn about ‘how to score in pickleball’, Scoring types, player positioning, score call out formats and all other necessary insights that can help to improve your singles or doubles game!

   Here are some basic rules to play this game correctly, which should get you started:
   Each game is played up to 11 points and the teams can win that game with a margin of 2
   All matches are played in the best-of-three formats.
   In traditional scoring, players or teams score only when they are serving.
   The score count for the singles game includes 2 numbers and the doubles game contains 3 numbers. But what are these numbers? We have explained them below.
   All players need to call the score verbally for a record before each serve.
   

2. Types of scoring
   

   The ‘side scoring system’ is included in Pickleball. It means the serving team earns one point whenever the non-serving team commits a fault.
   Fault: The fault is failing to serve the shot or upcoming ball to the other side of the net. The fault is considered when the ball comes in contact with any part of the non-volley zone, line, net, volleyed from the non-volley zone of the court, if it does not clear the net, or volleyed before the bounce at each side of the court.

   
   Pickleball scoring can be classified based on two things i.e.
   i) Scoring system
   Traditional Scoring
   Rally Scoring

    

   ii) Scoring based on No. of players
   Singles Scoring
   Doubles Scoring

    

   We are going to explore each scoring ‌below:
   Scoring System
   Traditional scoring :
   The game is longer compared to Rally scoring.  players gain a point when they or their team has the serving position. The serve is lost when the serving team commits a fault or mistake while serving the ball to the opponents. There is no loss of points in such a scenario of traditional scoring.
   This system is widely used for scoring at the moment
   Rally scoring :
   This type of scoring keeps the game shorter and increases excitement.
   one scoring point is given after each rally, regardless of which team served the ball. It means you get a point when your opponent’s team creates a fault while playing.
   Rally scoring is not the widely used format but is adopted by Major League Pickleball (MLP).
   Scoring based on No. of players
   Single Scoring:
   The scoring could be either of Traditional or Rally scoring mentioned above. There is one player on each side of the court in singles. One of them is the server and the other is the receiver. There is only one server in singles (doubles have two servers).
   
   Positioning: When the server’s score is even, the serve is done from the right side. When the server’s score is odd, the serve is done from the left side of the court. The receiver player has to align his position according to the serve score of the server player in singles pickleball.
   Side out : Server continues to serve till the opponent makes a fault. However, if the fault is made by the server, then the side out is called and the opponent player now serves.
   
   Score Call out Format: In a singles match, the score calling format is two digits including server score- receiver score. There is no second-serving player in the singles game. For e.g. if the server score is 5 and receiver score is 3 then the call out format will be 5-3.
   
   Double Scoring:
   There are four players in this double in a team of two. Both teams stand on each side of the court. 
   
   Positioning :
   Server Number : The serving team’s player standing on the right side of the court is called server 1. And his teammate becomes server 2
   
   Initially, server 1 serves the ball to the receiving player on the diagonally opposite side of the court. If the server scores a point, he moves to the left/ odd court and serves the ball again in the diagonal direction of the opposite court.
   
   The receiver team does not have to replace their positions. But, the serving team needs to move from left to right and vice versa whenever they score a point. The serving team has servers no. 1 and 2.
    Server 1  continues to serve the ball until the serving team loses the rally due to a fault. Then, server 2 serves the ball until he commits a fault in the next rally.
   
   Side out : The serving position goes to the opponent team when the server 2  of the first team loses the rally. When the opponent team gets the serve back, the player on the right side is decided as server 1.

   Score Call out Format:
   Many beginners and newcomers may have seen the three numbers like 3-4-1 or 4-5-2 in doubles games. So, what are these numbers exactly? These three numbers are framed for the server’s position in the serving rotation.
   
   first number: The serving team’s score
   Second number: The receiving team’s score
   Third number:  the server number in the serving team who is currently serving the ball (server 1 or 2)
   
   E.g. If the game has reached the 3-4-1 number, it means the serving team has scored 3 points, the receiving team has scored 4 points, and the server 1 on the serving team is currently serving the ball.
   
   First Server Exception:
   At the start of the game, you may have observed that the pickleball game starts with a 0-0-2 server number. This number is called the First Server Exception. It is done for fair play. It is done to reduce the unfair advantage of being the first team to get the serving position in the game.
   
   One player on the right side of the court gets the serving turn. The serving position is transferred to the other player when the first player loses the serve. And, that other player is called the second server.
   
   The score is ‘0-0-2,’ where the ‘2’ denotes the second server. It means the serve goes to the other side when the current serve is lost. 

3. Calling Out The Pickleball Score:
   

   As per  USA Pickleball’s official rulebook (4.A.1.), one of the most important points is that the serving player has to call the score in three numbers before serving. Otherwise, it would be considered as a fault.

4. How Do You Win A Pickleball Game?
   

   Either its singles or its Doubles game, when the serving team scores 11 points with a margin of 2 against the opponents, they win the Pickleball game

5. The Wrong Score In Pickleball?

   If the server or referee observes that the scoring is incorrectly done, he can call out for the wrong score before the next or return serve is hit. The server or referee can stop the play and ask for the correct score before proceeding. Wrong score calling involves 3 scenariosIf the score was called incorrectly:If the player pauses the game before the return serve is hit and the score is incorrectly called (wrong score), then the server or the referee recalls the correct score. The server will have to serve the ball again without any penalty.If the score was called correctly:
   If the score was correctly called out and the game was paused before the return of serve, the player who stopped to validate the score will have an assured fault and he will lose that current game rally. 
   
   If the game is stopped after the return of serve:
   

   If the return of serve is hit and the player stops the game to validate the called-out score, then that player will have committed a fault and as a result, he loses the rally.

6. Role Of A Referee In Pickleball:
   

   Recreational games may not need a referee, as it is played for joy and social interaction. However, professional tournaments need experienced and legal referees to keep a watch on fair play. The role of a referee is as follows:
   Ensure the fairness of the game,
   To call foot faults in the non-volley zone and service lines.
   Keep track of the score and call the score before each serve.
   Keeping an eye on all players to make the call.
   Watch out for the wrong score and recall it correctly before the return of the serve.
   To keep the game moving.
   To report the result to the final scoring and scheduling table
   To keep track of who is serving and who is receiving.
   To keep a watch on server 1 and server 2.

   If you are interested in becoming a referee kindly read our article “How to become a USA Pickleball certified referee?“

Conclusion:

Getsetpickleball.com hopes that the above guide on ‘How to score in pickleball?’ has helped you to solve your queries related to this game! Be attentive to server number, position, and score count to score more in the pickleball game.

 We recommend understanding the basics and practicing more to become perfect in scoring more points with fewer faults. What kind of issues do you face while scoring pickleball? Let us know in the comment section below. 

 Till then, see you in the courts!

Frequenty Asked Questions

1. Which side of the court do you move to after a point is scored?

   The server always starts from the right side to start the pickleball game. After winning a point, the server moves to the left side of the court. If it is a doubles game, there is another player in the same team called server 2. Server moves to the right and server 1 moves to the left after scoring a point.

    

2. What is rally scoring?
   

   Rally scoring is one of the types of scoring systems in pickleball where the point is awarded to the team regardless of who has served the ball. The rally lasts until either of the teams commits a fault. Whoever wins the point gets to serve for the next point. Traditional scoring lasts till 11 points, but rally scoring can last till 11 or 21 points.

    

3. What is a ‘Sideout’ in pickleball?
   

   The ‘Sideout’ in the game is announced after the serving team (in doubles) or serving player (in singles) loses its service after a fault and the opponent team or player gets to serve the ball.

4. How many points is a pickleball game played to?

   Pickleball is played to 11 points in traditional scoring. The teams or players should keep a margin of 2 points to win the game after scoring 11 points. In rally scoring, the point is awarded to the team regardless of who had served the ball. Hence, rally-scoring points are scored up to 15 or 21. The winning team or player needs a margin of 2 points in rally scoring.

5. what is the fault in the pickleball scoring system?

   The fault is considered when the pickleball comes in contact with any part of the non-volley zone, line, net, volleyed from the non-volley zone of the court, if it does not clear the net, or volleyed before the bounce at each side of the court. In such cases, the fault is counted and the serving position is passed to server two of the serving team.

6. what is it called if you continuously win 11 points during the serve in pickleball?

   It is called the ‘Golden Pickle’. If you continuously win 11 points during the serve in pickleball, the score call is 11-0 in the singles game and 11-0-1 or 11-0-2 in the doubles game. When the serving team scores points till 11 score and does not allow the receiver team to score a point, it is a case of a golden pickle.