How To Score In Pickleball And Never Lose Track Again!

Barrett Kincheloearticle, Basics, Rules 52 Comments

There are many jokes, expressions and hilarious uses of wordplay in pickleball. But one of the more “funny and kind of true” jokes is that learning how to score in pickleball is more difficult than learning how to play the game itself. We all know it isn’t true, but sometimes it seems like it!

In this article, I’m going to teach you everything you need to know about scoring in pickleball. I’m going to go over what the scoring numbers mean, how to do it and how to never lose track again!

How does scoring work in doubles pickleball?

If you’re here for a quick answer, here are the absolute basics of what you need to know: scoring in pickleball goes to 11 points. It can sometimes go to 15 points in tournaments. You can only score a point when your team is serving and when you do, you switch positions with your partner. Also, you have to win the game by 2 points. Those are the basics.

Now, before we get into pickleball scoring, I need to explain some basics on how doubles pickleball works. The first element we need to go over is serving.

Keep in mind that scoring in pickleball is not rally scoring. If you want to learn more about rally scoring, you can head on over here for a great article on the subject.

Serving in pickleball

In pickleball, you can only score a point if your team is serving. Notice how I said “team”. That’s right, each player on a team gets to serve at least once. So how does that work?

When it’s your teams turn to serve, the player on the right side of the court will always be the first person to serve.

Always.

This makes it easy and fool-proof in terms of figuring out who serves first when it’s your turn. So, when you think about it this way, the person on the right is the first server and the person on the left is the second server.

However, it doesn’t go in sequential order like that. Teams don’t serve only twice and then the other team gets to serve. Instead, a player gets to keep serving if their team scored a point. This means that you can get to 11 points and win the game with just one person serving. But what happens if you’re serving and you hit it into the net or your team otherwise makes a fault? Then it’s your partner’s turn to serve. That player then becomes the second server.

If he messes up, then you’re all out of serves! This is called “side out”, which means that your side is out of serves and now it’s the opponent’s turn to serve.

Another thing that I’d like to add is that when your team scores a point (remember, you can only score a point if you’re serving), you switch places with your partner.

It’s a pretty simple rule in pickleball, but I want to mention it because it’s going to be very important to help you keep track of the score. More on that later!

Win by two!

You have to win by at least two points in pickleball. There are no exceptions to this rule. This means that if your game is playing to 11 points and the current score is 10-10, then getting to 11 points isn’t going to cut it. You will have to go to 12 in order to put yourself two points ahead of the other team. Then you automatically win. This can go on forever until the two-point spread is achieved.

Let’s talk numbers

Now that you understand how serving works in pickleball, let’s add in some numbers. The scoring numbers work a little bit differently than other racket sports. And quite frankly, the score can get quite complicated. In fact, there are more pickleball debates in recreational play about the score than there are about line calls. Here’s an example of what the score can look like:

Now, if you’re familiar with pickleball already, you know exactly what this is. But if you’re not, then you’re probably the most confused you’ve ever been in your life. I feel you. I’ve tried to explain the pickleball scoring system to people in person and all I see is their mouths slightly ajar and they’re looking at me like I have fun-sized Snickers bars dancing in my hair.

I mean, no one likes fun-sized Snickers bars dancing in their hair, right? In order to avoid this, let me give you a rundown of what the numbers mean.

What do the scoring numbers mean?

Here’s how it works:

The number on the left is the serving teams score. Since it’s the serving team’s score, it won’t always be your score! The number in the middle will be the other’s team’s score from the perspective of the serving team. And finally, the last number is the first or second server on the serving team.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to the score is that whichever team is serving the ball, will have their score called out first, then followed by the opposing team, then the server number.

Check out this image:

The image above shows two scenarios, one where your team is serving and one where the opposing team is serving. As you can see, when it’s your teams turn to serve, the score is 4-3-1 because your team has four points and the opposing team as three.

The second pane shows the opposite. Now, it’s your opponent’s turn to serve. The player on the right side of their court will serve and the score is 3-4-1. Like I said earlier, their score comes first because they’re the ones that are serving.

The third number

Remember how we talked about how each team gets to serve twice, one serve for each player? That’s what the far right number refers to. So for example, if “side out” is called and it’s your teams turn to serve, then whoever is on the right side of your court will serve first. Since that player is the first server of your turn, the number at the end of the score will be “1”, symbolizing first.

Your team could move on to score a few points, then mess up. Oh well, you scored a few points, but now it’s your partner’s turn to serve. Once your partner makes a fault, then it will be “side out” and the serve will now go to the opponent.

Let’s look at a full example

There’s nothing better than starting a fresh game of pickleball. But before we get started in this example, there is one odd thing that I have to clarify. The team that starts the match will only have one serve. I’m not entirely sure why this is the case, but it’s just one of these things that you have to memorize.

So when you start the game, the person on the right will always serve first. The score will be 0-0-2 or as most people say, 0-0-start. Remember, this only happens for the first team at the very beginning of the match.

Let’s move on to an example. Imagine for this example that you’re the one starting the game. The score is 0-0-2, or 0-0-start. You serve over the net and your opponent completely misses. Point! Your team gets a point and you switch places with your partner. Like this:

Nice! Now the score is 1-0-2 or 1-0-start. Since you were serving and scored, you get to serve again. But this time, you hit it right into the net. Whoops, it happens. I’ve done it too. Since you were the second server, “side out” is called and now it’s your opponents turn to serve. Can you guess what the score is?

That’s right, the score is now 0-1-1 since your opponent’s score gets called first and he’s the first server. He serves the ball right into the net just like you did, now it’s his partners turn to serve. The score is now 0-1-2 because he’s the second server. He serves the ball, you attempt your return serve, but it goes right into the net. That’s a point for them. The score is now 1-1-2.

He serves the ball again and your partner can’t get to it. That’s another point for them. The score is now 2-1-2. He serves once more, but it hits the top of the net and falls into the kitchen. Fault and side out!

Now it’s your team’s serve. Guess what the score is? If you guessed 1-2-1, you are correct. Your team has one point, they have 2 points and your team is on the first serve.

Create these examples in your head

The best way to practice scoring, of course, is to play pickleball. But you can also create these examples like I did above. Playing these out in your head can help you understand the way scoring works and is kind of fun at the same time. Scoring in pickleball can take time to learn, but as you continue playing, you’ll get used to it and it will become second nature.

But like in the beginning, there is often a lot of confusion about scoring. That’s what we’re going to talk about next.

How to keep track of the score

Here’s where things get interesting. Pickleball seems like an impossible sport to keep score in sometimes. There’s a neat trick though. And thank goodness this trick exists! But let’s go over something first before we get to the trick.

Call out the score when you serve!

One of the easiest ways to lose track of the score is to not call out the serve. Sounds obvious, right? But you would be surprised at how many people don’t call out the serve when they play.

First and foremost, it’s actually against the rules. It’s not that big of a deal in recreational play, but in tournaments, it is a big deal assuming you don’t have a referee. If you don’t call out the serve and then proceed to hit the ball, it’s a fault.

But it’s also common courtesy. Calling out the serve helps the other 3 people on the court keep track of where things are. This is especially true if it’s near the end of a game. Your strategy can change significantly if the opposing team is about to win. If you don’t know it, that could be a disadvantage.

Do the right thing and belt out that score every time you serve.

Getting tricky

This is how you keep track of the score in pickleball. In general, the trick to keep track of the score in pickleball is to realize that the players who start the game on the right side of the court will always be considered the “even” player. This means that whenever they are on the right side of the court, the score will always be even.

I know, it sounds confusing, but once you put it into practice, it’s a genius system that works flawlessly. Here’s how you do it.

At the very beginning of the game, note who is on the right side for each team.

Pretend for a minute that you’re on the right side of the court in the image above. What does this mean? It means that you are the even number player for our team. This means that whenever you are on the right side of the court, your team’s score will always be even.

Always! And it doesn’t matter if you’re serving or not.

That’s the trick. Try to play it out in your head, or draw out a court and try it. It will work every single time.

Likewise, whenever your partner is serving, since he started on the left side of the court, your team’s score will always be odd when he’s on the right side. Make sense? Use this trick and you will never lose track of the score again.

How to score in singles pickleball

Scoring in singles pickleball works the exact same way as doubles. All of the tricks that I’ve shown you to keep track of the score will work the exact same way. The only aspect that is different is when “side out” is called.

When the player loses their serve, the ball goes to the opposing player as usual. But the server will go to a side based on whether or not their score is even or odd. It’s that simple.

So when it’s your turn to serve in singles, you’ll serve on the left side if you’re an odd score and you’ll serve on the right if you’re an even score.

Side out!

Well, that’s it for me. I hope this article helped you through some of the basics of scoring in pickleball. I know it’s difficult at first, but once you use the tricks that I talked about above, it will become much easier. Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions.

Comments 52

  1. “Totally agree about the importance of proper court position! But I also find repeating the score after each point helps me solidify it in my brain. ‘Two-four, your serve!’ might sound silly, but it works for me!”

  2. Hello,

    Is there a system to determine if both players have served…. We have run into confusion remembering if both payers have served… We understand and use the even odd trick.

    Thank you

  3. The scoring in pickleball is straightforward. Games are played to 11 points, and a team must win by at least 2 points. However, it’s important to understand the nuances of when a team can score points, which may vary based on the serving team.

    For a comprehensive guide on pickleball scoring and additional details, visit our site. usapickleballrules.org

    1. I am a newbie, started playing in May and up to this point cannot grasp the switching position. I know that when the server wins a point, you switch side with your partner. and the rest I cannot pick up.

  4. Pickleball was invented by a Congressman. When have you ever known Congress to do anything efficiently? Or that makes any sense? The Pickleball scoring systemis just plain dumb. We go play and keep score like a normal score 1-1,2-1,3-1,3-2,etc… inevitably there will be some Karen or Ken(they seem to be prevalent in pickleball) who will come and tell me I’m not keeping score right to which I give them the customary “fuck off”.

  5. I come from a tennis background. Keeping score in tennis was never a problem for me. I understand the scoring basics of PB. Where I get confused is when the rallies get long and intense and the point ends, I forget what the score was and who served…Uh…I wish there was an app for android I can load onto my watch to help me with that….I think there may be one for apple watches but not android the last I checked.

  6. The check that I run in my head is this:

    If you were a starting serve team (usually the team with their backs to the wall) then:

    If you are serving from deuce court the score plus the server number has to add up to even number. That number has to be odd if the person on the starting team serves from ad side.

    The rule is flipped for the side that did not start serving. I.e. their score plus server side number add up to odd on deuce side and even on ad side.

  7. Your article is well written, but I was looking for a different explanation pertaining to “serving”. The score is 10 to 10. I or my team has the serve. I or my team serves and get a point. Now its “advantage”, my team. Does the serve go to the other team or do I serve again for the winning point? If I serve again and lose my serve, dows my partner, server #2 serve or does the serve go to my opponent(s)?

    1. Post
      Author

      You always keep serving until you’ve lost a total of 2 points, then the other team gets to serve.

      1. You don’t lose points if you fault while serving. You wins points when the receiving team faults. Correct?

  8. I think you made a mistake when writing about keeping track of score. If your partner is on the left and and started on left, the score should be even. That’s because the even player is in even position. The score is odd when even player moves to left side.

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      Author
  9. I played volleyball before the days of “Rally Scoring”. Back when the international norm only awarded points if a team served. As soon as Rally Scoring gained momentum it quickly became the favorite and a new standard was adopted. Require Pickleball to be played to 21 if necessary but making rally scoring the norm would make the game easier (more fun!) for EVERYONE.

  10. WOW
    I came here a little confused but now am totally so. I have to do calculations in my head with even and odd numbers just to figure out the score? Bizarre.
    Just so I can simplify a few things for my own thinking-
    The starting server calls themselves number two. as in 0-0-2. Because the serve will change to the opponents after one fault. After their side faults once, their side is out, and the other team serves. The right hand opponent serves first, now calling themselves server #1. After one fault, their partner serves- from whatever side they were on after their first fault. When that team had faulted twice, the serve goes back to the team that started serving.
    But the person now on the right (who must have started serving on that side, as server #2), now identifies themselves as server #1. After one fault, that partner now serves (and identifies themselves as server #2), from whatever side they were on when their first fault occurred (of this sequence).
    So the server “number” (one or two) is not assigned to a particular player, but rather changes (or at least is re-evaluated) after each side out and a change of serving side. The person serving first after a side out is always the player on the right, and always then becomes server #1. Temporarily.
    If this is all correct, I think I can deal with it.

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      Author

      You nailed it, great job! Also remember that when the serving team scores a point, they switch spots with their partner and continue.

  11. When the ball comes back to the first team after the first team loses the first point, for the first time, may eigther player have the option to be a #1 or #2 server – or does the one who served it at 0-0-start have to be the #1 server again?

  12. When the serve sequence begins the serve is always from the even/right side of the court.
    If the side serving score is even the first server serves if the score is odd the second server serves always from the right except when a point is scored and positions are switch.

  13. Say you return a spinning serve and it goes below the net but around the side and lands on the opponent’s court. Is the ball in play? Are there ever any replays in Pickleball other than a “let” on the serve?

    1. Answering my own question, yes, the ball does not need to clear the net to be “good”- it can curve around the post. And with the change in serving rules, it is also still in play when the serve hits the net but clears the kitchen!

  14. I think I see an error: “Likewise, whenever your partner is serving, since he started on the left side of the court, your team’s score will always be odd when he’s on the left side.” Will it not always be even?

  15. THE most over-looked and very important item that ALL the people explaining the score for pickleball on these web sites – totally ignore- is the following: Please speak to when and how the server should call or speak the score.
    NOT the numbers specifically, we have tons of information on that, but when and how those numbers are delivered. I see players facing the back fence and say the score, then chase down balls, or then talk with their partner, or opponents, or even talk with players in other games, and then, a minute or so later, just serve without saying the score again.
    Often the opponents never had a chance of hearing the score. IS THAT PROPER? How about players who say the score real fast, so it all sounds jumbled together and not understandable. Or, just say it so lightly and quietly such that the opponents can’t hear it and have to try and read lips from 50 feet away. Very Frustrating.
    All this when other players are playing near by, smashing balls, and shouting on other close courts, the wind is blowing, LOUD cars, motorcycles and trucks are driving by. Or, sometimes many games are going on indoors where the noise is echoing so bad that is so very hard to hear the whispered score announcements.
    Sometimes too, just the server’s ‘partner’ says the score, long before the server serves, and it is never spoken again by the server – is that proper?
    Sometimes too, the server is practically saying the last number as he/she hits the ball. If the score is said wrong, there is no time to ask for a correction. Is that OK?

    So PLEASE deal with How and When the score should be spoken now and explain it too, anytime the score number system is explained. Who cares about the numbers, if you can’t hear them?

    Come on guys! Somebody, hopefully as many people as those who explain the actual number score system, REALLY NEED to address this in definite terms a LOT more.
    It’s no wonder the score gets lost so often. So many don’t hear it. Like it is a secret.

    Maybe the rules should include that return server should signal that they heard the serve before it is served. Like a quick hand signal, like a quick salute, or something, and then the sever is clear to serve. This problem is getting old. Needs to be dealt with.
    PIckleball is easy – it is the scoring that is not in so many ways.

  16. Am I correct in assuming then, in doubles play, if the very first server of the game, does not score a point, that he/she will start the second serving sequence for that team?
    Also, when both your teams players have lost their serve, do you stay on the side of the court that you finished on to receive your opponents serve.

  17. why would a starting server on the even side say, 0 0 2 when they are starting on the even side?
    i love the game but im having a difficult time keeping score.

    1. You are not alone! I am an advanced intermediate and absolutely love love love the game. However, we are a family of high level tennis players, having NO PROBLEM with keeping score in tennis. I feel like a fool out there playing pickle ball when it comes to keeping score. I really question who in the world designed this method of scoring??? To me, it is too detailed with too many rules. The folks I play with have been patient with me but are getting a bit annoyed why I just can’t get it.

      1. I agree about the scoring. I am an old (as in age and experience) tennis player who has been playing pickle ball for about 5 months and still get lost in the scoring system and side to serve from. I have watched so many videos to try and work it out I feel like I am on first name terms with the players. Hopefully one day it will hit me.

  18. Is there a system to determine if both players have served…. We have run into confusion remembering if both payers have served… We understand and use the even odd trick …
    thank you

    1. Post
      Author

      Yes, there is something that you can do. Try to remember what number you came in on. So in other words, if it’s side out and you get the ball, remember that number. If it’s 3, and you’re on the right side, then you’ll be able to tell if it’s the 1st or 2nd server just based on what the score was when you got the ball. Hopefully, that made sense.

      1. Can you be more specific? If we come in and our score is 3, odd score, and I’m on the right, serving- lets say we get up to a score of 8, and I’m now on the left side of the court. I can’t remember whether I was serving or my partner, and nobody else can. (Really Long stretch of volleys!) But then I think aha! I was on the right and the score was 3 when we started! Have both players served or is it the second players turn to serve? I think after sketching this out, that I could be on the left if I was serving up to score of 8, and I think I can be at a score of 8 on left side side, if I served for 2 points and my partner served 3 points. I’m obviously missing something!

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          Author

          Yeah that’s one of the down sides of pickleball. It can be extremely difficult keeping track of the score. But the big way to remember is to keep track of who started first when you get the ball back. Another thing you can do is remember certain events. The other night this same thing happened, and the opponent said, no you’re the second server because you hit that one over the fence, remember? It wasn’t exactly like that, but similar. Does that make sense? I may update the article at a later date to give some advice on this. Thanks for your comment!

        2. But isn’t that the point of the third number? If the third number is 1 when you start serving it stays 1 until you lose your serve. That means your parntner hasn’t served yet and the third number becomes 2 until side out.

  19. Pingback: Rally Scoring In Volleyball Explained | Better At Volleyball

  20. If you can, please always note the difference between rules and strategies when explaining. What is making Pickleball very difficult for me is having instructors shout out strategies when I am trying to learn rules. Also, when you place player positions on illustrations, please explain why they are where they are in terms of rules. Strategy comes very easy for me while rules do not. To talk about these at the same is VERY frustrating.

    My current question is what rules address where a non-serving player stands on the court, both when serving or receiving?

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      Author

      A player who is neither serving nor returning can stand anywhere they want. The serving player must stand within the sideline, centerline, but outside the baseline of the correct serving quadrant. What the correct quadrant is is dictated by which side you were standing on when the game started. Same goes with the receiver.

      Can you let me know where in the article you got confused between strategy and rules? I’ll be sure to go in and take a look at it.

      Please feel free to ask any other questions here and I will answer them. Thanks!

  21. Can any one of the 4 people on the court call the score. I always call the score whether I’m the server, servers partner or a receiver in order to be sure. As in tennis it’s important to play the score. I’ve had partners and opponents object to me doing this. What’s the rule??

    1. Post
      Author

      Yes, that’s fine. But if you’re in a tournament with a referee, then you have to let the referee call the score and you can’t serve until the score has been completely called.

  22. Why not update this to 0-0-2 instead of 0-0-start which has been set aside by the USAPA?
    Keep doing these videos. I have many of my acolytes check out these videos.

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      Author
      1. Could it be right that if you add all three numbers when you start your serve (the game score and the number of the person serving), then the total of the 3 numbers must be even when you start serving on the right side court and odd when you are serving on the left side court. See if that works.

        1. That doesn’t work because let’s say you’re serving 3-0-2 from the deuce side. That’s a total of 5. The serve comes back to you in the deuce court after a couple of side outs and it’s still 3-0. But now you’re serving 3-0-1 for a total of 4. So, two different serving scenarios with the same score but different server number.

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