Pickleball doubles serving rules
In doubles, both partners get a turn to serve before the serve goes to the other team. That's why the score has three numbers, and why every game starts at 0-0-2. These rules cover traditional side-out scoring, the standard in the USA Pickleball rulebook.
The five rules
- When your team gets the serve, the player in the right court serves first ("server 1").
- Win the rally while serving: you score a point, you and your partner switch courts, and the same player serves again.
- Lose the rally as server 1: no point, and your partner serves from the court they're standing in ("server 2").
- Lose the rally as server 2: side out. The other team gets the serve.
- At the start of each game, the first serving team has only one server, so the first lost rally is a side out. The score is called 0-0-2.
Calling the score
Before each serve, the server calls three numbers: their team's score, the other team's score, then the server number (1 or 2). "4-2-1" means the serving team has 4, the receivers have 2, and the first server of this turn is serving.
Why games start at 0-0-2
Serving first is an advantage, so the team that starts gets only one server in its first turn. The starting server is treated as the second server: lose that first rally and the serve goes straight to the other team. From then on, every service turn has two servers.
Which court do you serve from?
Partners only switch courts when their team scores. So the team's starting server is always in the right court when the team's score is even (0, 2, 4…) and in the left when it's odd. The second server simply serves from wherever they're standing. The serve goes diagonally, to the receiver in the opposite service court.
Rally-by-rally example
Asha and Ravi play Meera and Kiran. Asha and Ravi serve first, with Asha in the right court. Meera starts in her team's right court.
| Rally won by | Score call | Next serve | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| (start) | 0-0-2 | Asha, right court, to Meera | The first team has one server to start. |
| Asha & Ravi | 1-0-2 | Asha, left court, to Kiran | Point on serve: Asha and Ravi switch courts. |
| Meera & Kiran | 0-1-1 | Meera, right court, to Ravi | Side out. Meera is in her team's right court, so she is server 1. |
| Meera & Kiran | 1-1-1 | Meera, left court, to Asha | Point on serve: Meera and Kiran switch. |
| Asha & Ravi | 1-1-2 | Kiran, right court, to Ravi | No point. Server 1 lost the rally, so her partner Kiran serves from his court. |
| Asha & Ravi | 1-1-1 | Ravi, right court, to Kiran | Side out. Their score is odd, so Asha is on the left and Ravi serves first. |
| Asha & Ravi | 2-1-1 | Ravi, left court, to Meera | Point on serve: Ravi and Asha switch. |
| Meera & Kiran | 2-1-2 | Asha, right court, to Kiran | No point. Asha is second server, serving from the right. |
At the start of a new game
Teams change ends, and the other team serves first: the first serve alternates each game. The new game starts at 0-0-2 again, and a team may change which partner serves first.
Related rules
- Pickleball scoring rules: side-out scoring, games to 11 and changing ends.
Let the app track it
DeucePoint calls the score for you ("4-2-1"), shows which player serves from which court, and handles second servers and side outs. Just tap the team that won the rally.