Pickleball scoring explained

Pickleball scoring is the part of the game that confuses beginners most, mainly because of the three-number score call in doubles. Once someone has explained it on court a couple of times it clicks. This guide follows the 2026 official rulebook used by USA Pickleball and Pickleball Canada, which UK clubs follow (2026 Official Rulebook).

The basics: side-out scoring

• Only the serving side can score a point. If the receiving side wins the rally, nobody scores; they just win the right to serve (a "side out").
• Games are usually played to 11 points, and you must win by two. Tournaments sometimes play to 15 or 21.
• The server gets one serve, not two. A fault ends that server's turn.

Doubles: the three-number score

In doubles the score is called as three numbers before every serve:

1. The serving team's score.
2. The receiving team's score.
3. The server number, 1 or 2.

So "4-2-1" means the serving team has 4, the receivers have 2, and the first server on the team is serving.

Each team normally gets two serving turns, one per player. The first server keeps serving, switching sides with their partner after each point won, until the team loses a rally. Then the partner serves, as server 2, until the team loses another rally. Then it's a side out and the other team serves.

The exception at the start: to stop the first team having an unfair advantage, the side that serves first only gets one server in their first turn. That's why every game starts with the call "0-0-2": zero, zero, and the server is treated as server 2.

Where to stand

This is the trick that helps you keep track. For the serving team, when your score is even (0, 2, 4, 6...), the player who started the game on the right should be on the right. When it's odd, they should be on the left. In singles it's simpler: serve from the right when your score is even, from the left when it's odd.

The receiving team doesn't switch sides when they win a rally; only the serving team swaps, and only when they score.

Singles uses the same side-out system but there's no server number, so the score is called as two numbers: server's score, then receiver's score. A game starts at "0-0".

Rally scoring

Rally scoring is a growing alternative, used in some leagues, social sessions and tournaments to make games shorter and more predictable. Under rally scoring:

• A point is scored on every rally, whichever side served.
• The receiving side can therefore score, including the winning point.
• The score is called as two numbers.

In the 2026 rulebook rally scoring is still a provisional rule, so traditional side-out scoring remains the default. If you turn up to a session, the organiser will tell you which one is being played.

Common mistakes and a worked example

• Forgetting to call the score. The server must call it before serving, loudly enough for everyone to hear.
• The receiving team swapping sides after winning a rally. They shouldn't.
• Forgetting who is server 1 and server 2. Use the even/odd rule above to check.

Here's how the start of a doubles game runs. Team A serves first at 0-0-2. They win the rally, so they score and the server swaps sides with their partner: 1-0-2. They lose the next rally, and because they were already on their second server, it's a side out. Team B now serves at 0-1-1, from the right, because their score is zero (even). Team B wins a rally: 1-1-1, and the server moves to the left. Team B then loses a rally, so the partner takes over as server 2 at 1-1-2, from wherever they're standing. Lose again and the serve goes back to Team A at 1-1-1.

If the score gets confused mid-game, which happens constantly at social sessions, stop and work it out from where the players are standing using the even/odd rule. Most groups would rather spend 20 seconds agreeing than play the rest of the game arguing.

The quickest way to learn is to play. Find pickleball near you, or browse UK pickleball venues. For the rest of the rules, read pickleball rules explained.