How to keep score in Pickleball

The basics

A pickleball game is played to 11 points and you must win by 2. Tournaments sometimes play to 15 or 21. A match is best of 3 games.

Side-out scoring (traditional)

In traditional side-out scoring, only the serving team can score. When the serving team loses a rally it is a "side out" and serve passes to the opponents. In doubles, both partners serve before a side out — except the very first service turn of the game, where only one player serves.

Calling the score — three numbers

In doubles you call three numbers: your team's score, the opponents' score, and the server number (1 or 2). So "5-3-2" means the serving team has 5, the receiving team has 3, and it is the second server.

Rally scoring

Some formats use rally scoring, where a point is awarded on every rally regardless of who served — faster and easier to track, common in recreational and some pro formats.

The kitchen (non-volley zone)

You cannot volley (hit the ball out of the air) while standing in the 7-foot non-volley zone. It does not change the score, but it is the most common fault after scoring confusion.