The Official Rules of Pickleball in Canada

For when you're not sure if it's your point… but you're too polite to say anything.

TL;DR: The Essentials

  • Serve underhand, diagonally
  • Let it bounce once on each side before volleying
  • Stay out of the kitchen unless the ball bounces
  • You only score when serving
  • Games to 11 points – win by 2
  • Be kind, but also… smash when needed

The Objective

Easy Peasy:

  1. Hit the ball over the net, within the lines, without letting it bounce more than once on your side. 
  2. Score points by forcing a mistake from your opponent — not by calling your brother-in-law in the mid-point to ask the rules.

Singles vs Doubles
  • Serve underhand and diagonal
  • Let it bounce once on each side before volleying
  • Stay out of the kitchen unless the ball bounces
  • You only score when serving
  • Games to 11 points – win by 2
  • Don’t be that guy

The Serve
  • Underhand only. No Federer vibes allowed.
  • Paddle must stay below the waist — it’s not a swordfight.
  • Serve diagonally into the opposite service box.
  • Ball has to land past the kitchen line.
  • In doubles, each player gets a turn serving before giving it up — except at the very beginning of the game.

Pro tip: Calling "Zero-Zero-Start" like a boss makes you 15% more intimidating.

The Kitchen (Non-Volley Zone)

It’s that 7-foot box on both sides of the net.

  • You cannot volley (hit in the air) while in the kitchen.
  • You can step in, but only if the ball bounces first.
  • Hitting a sick drop shot and falling into the kitchen? Fault.

Basically: the kitchen’s a no-fly zone. Respect it.

The Two-Bounce Rule

Before anyone gets cocky:

  1. Serve must bounce on the receiver’s side.
  2. Return must bounce on the server’s side.
  3. Then, the rally gets real.

No rush — this isn’t ping pong with cardio.

Court Dimensions
  • 20 feet wide
  • 44 feet long

Same size for singles and doubles.
Standard across every backyard court in Florida, rec center in Oregon, and tennis court conversion in Atlanta.

Scoring
  • You only score when your team is serving.
  • Games go to 11 points, win by 2.
  • In doubles, each player gets to serve before the other team takes over.

You call the score like this: 7 - 5 - 2

  • Your team: 7 points
  • Your opponents: 5 points
  • You’re the second server of your team

Yeah, it sounds like a radio frequency but it works.

Faults You’ll See a Lot
  • Stepping in the kitchen while volleying
  • Ball landing out of bounds
  • Serving into the net
  • Screaming “LET’S GO!” after hitting the ball into your own foot

The U.S. Pickleball Vibe

Sure, it’s the fastest-growing sport in America, but it’s still chill.
There’s room for sweaty dads, retired tennis pros, 9-year-olds with reflexes, and TikTokers all on one court.
You’ll hear phrases like:

“I played D3 tennis.”
“Is that legal?”
“Let’s just replay it.”

Pickleball in the U.S. is part sport, part flex, part hangout.

Play with Passion, eh

Whether you’re in Vancouver’s Kits Beach courts or a community gym in Red Deer, play hard, laugh louder, and maybe, just maybe, bring home the first-ever Pickleball Cup to your cul-de-sac.