Learn to play / Rulebooks / UPA-A
Rulebook summary
UPA-A rules, summarized
The UPA-A Rulebook used at PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball events, in plain English, with the places it differs from USA Pickleball marked.
This is a summary. The official rulebook governs.
We wrote this in our own words to help players find their way around the rules. Where it and the rulebook disagree, the rulebook wins. Read the UPA-A rulebook (PDF)
Points marked Differs from USA Pickleball work differently under the USA Pickleball rulebook. See the differences side by side.
What the rulebook covers
Rulebook: Rule 1; PR 1
- It is the controlling rulebook for UPA-A sanctioned competition. PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball tournaments, in the US and abroad, are under UPA-A's authority. 1.1, 1.3
- Rules 1 to 15 cover amateur and pro play with side-out scoring. Rules 1 to 13 apply whether or not a referee is present; without one, players apply them in good faith. 1.2.1
- Appendices add tournament operations (A), professional rules (B), the MLPlay team format (C), adaptive play (D) and rally scoring (E). An appendix wins over the general rules for its own category. In version 0.9, Appendices C, D and E are marked In Progress. 1.2.2; Appendices C-E
- At PPA events the professional rules come first, then the general rules. At MLP events the MLPlay guide comes first, then the professional rules, then the general rules. PR 1.1.1, PR 1.1.2
- The most recent version on the UPA-A website is the binding one, and UPA-A says it tries not to change rules during a season. 1.3
- Taking part in a sanctioned event means agreeing to the rulebook, and that extends to coaches, family members and others with credentials. 1.4
Court and equipment
Rulebook: Rule 3; PR 2
- The court is 20 by 44 feet with 2-inch lines. The non-volley zone runs 7 feet from the net and includes its line; each service court is 10 by 15 feet. 3.1.1
- For tournament-quality courts, a total play area of 40 by 60 feet is recommended. 3.1.1 Differs from USA Pickleball
- The net is 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 at the center, within a quarter inch, with posts 22 feet apart. A sagging net must be fixed before play. 3.1.2
- Each UPA-A tournament picks one outdoor-type ball as its official ball. 3.2.1
- A paddle on the UPA-A Approved Paddles List is encouraged, and one on the USA Pickleball list is permitted. Players are responsible for keeping their paddle compliant, and it can be inspected at any time. 3.2.2 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Pro brackets require a paddle approved for pro play, tested before the match. An opponent can challenge a paddle during a match; results stand either way, and fines follow for a failed paddle or a wrong challenge. PR 2.1-PR 2.3
- Players must wear court shoes and may be told to change apparel that matches the ball, distracts or is unsafe. Refusing means a match forfeit. 3.3, 12.7
Starting a match and between games
Rulebook: Rule 4
- A coin toss (or other random method) decides first choice: the winner picks a starting end or to serve or receive, and the opponent takes the other. 4.1.1
- In doubles, each team's starting server wears a starting server band. Not wearing it means a match forfeit. 4.1.2
- The match starts when the first 15-second readiness period begins. 4.2
- Players change ends at the midpoint of a game (6 points in a game to 11, 8 in a game to 15, 11 in a game to 21) in every match format, with one minute to do it. 4.4.1, 4.4.2 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Two minutes are allowed between games. A team that changes its starting server must give notice first, or gets a Mark. 4.5.1, 4.5.2
- The first serve alternates between teams each game, and each new game starts on the ends where the last one finished. 4.5.3, 4.5.4
The serve
Rulebook: Rule 5; PR 3
- The score must be called loudly and clearly; then the server has 10 seconds. Serving before the call starts means a re-serve; serving during the call, or after 10 seconds, is a fault. 5.2.3
- If the legality of the feet, release, swing, contact point or paddle position can't be clearly confirmed by sight, the serve is a fault. 5.3 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Feet: at least one on the ground behind the baseline, neither touching the court, and neither outside the extended sideline or centerline. 5.3.1
- Volley serve: release with one hand or drop or roll it off the paddle, add no spin, and keep the release visible. There's no limit on toss height. Swing underhand, low to high, not side to side; contact at or below the waist with the paddle head not above the wrist. 5.3.2
- Drop serve: release from any height with one hand or the paddle, with no added spin, force or manipulation. The ball may bounce only once before you hit it, anywhere on the playing surface. 5.3.3 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Serve diagonally. The ball may touch the net, must clear the non-volley zone and its lines, and may land on any line of the correct service court. 5.4
- Faults on the server: a short serve, landing outside the service court, or hitting a permanent object, the server or the partner. A serve that hits the receiver or partner before bouncing, or a return by the wrong receiver when positions were correct, is a fault on the receiving side. 5.4, 5.7.2
- Calling a time-out after the score call has started is a fault. 5.7.1, 5.7.2
- Pro brackets: the volley serve is mandatory and the drop serve isn't allowed. PR 3.1.2 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Pro brackets: release with one hand only (the paddle only with an approved exception), clearly below the shoulder. The ball may rise no more than one ball's height on release, and contact must be clearly at or below the waist. PR 3.2
- Pro brackets: only an on-court referee calls a let serve, and a let means a re-serve. There's no limit on lets. PR 3.3.1, PR 3.3.2
Service sequence and scoring
Rulebook: Rule 5; Appendix A
- Side-out scoring: only the serving side scores. 5.6
- Singles: serve from the right when your score is even and from the left when it's odd. Losing a rally or faulting is a side out. 5.5.1
- Doubles: after a side out, the player on the right by the team's score serves first, and both partners serve before the next side out, except at the start of each game, when only the starting server serves. 5.5.2
- The starting server (the player with the band) belongs on the right when the team's score is even and on the left when it's odd. 5.5.2
- The score is called as two numbers in singles and three in doubles. Doubles games start at 0-0-2 unless a penalty was assessed before the game. 5.2.1
- A wrong server, receiver, position or score can be fixed without penalty if play stops before the return of serve, and the rally is replayed. Stopping after the return is a fault; if the rally ends first, it stands. 5.2.5
- The recommended format is best of three games to 11, win by 2. Best of five to 11 and single games to 15 or 21 are also allowed. TO 2.2
- The Tournament Director may allow rally scoring for singles events. The rally scoring appendix is still In Progress. TO 2.3; Appendix E Differs from USA Pickleball
The two-bounce rule
Rulebook: 6.1, 8.1
- After the serve, each side must play one shot off the bounce before volleying. Volleying the serve or the return is a fault. 8.1
- Letting the ball bounce twice before returning it is a fault. 6.1
The non-volley zone (kitchen)
Rulebook: Rule 9
- The act of volleying is the swing, the contact, the follow-through and any momentum after it. 2.2
- The swing may start inside or outside the zone, but the contact, follow-through and momentum must all happen outside it. 9.1
- You may enter the zone any time except while volleying or before you've regained balance after a volley. You can stay in after hitting a ball that bounced. 9.2
- Touching the zone during a volley, its follow-through or its momentum is a fault, even after the ball is dead. 9.3
- Before volleying again, each foot that touched the zone must touch the ground outside it. If only one foot went in, only that foot has to. 9.4 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Touching your partner while they're in the zone during your volley is a fault. Volleying while your partner stands in the zone is fine if you don't touch. 9.5, 9.6
- Pro brackets: a paddle inspection sticker that falls into the zone during a volley isn't a fault; neither is a starting server band that breaks, unless it wasn't properly secured. PR 4
Line calls
Rulebook: Rule 7; PR 6
- Call a ball out only if you clearly see space between where it touched down and the line. A ball that only looks like it overhangs the line hasn't touched it. Doubtful calls go to the opponent. 7.1, 2.40
- Lines are in, except that a serve landing in the non-volley zone or on its line is out. 7.2, 7.3
- Any sign from a player that a ball is in makes it in, and it can't be changed to out. If partners disagree, the ball is in. 7.2
- Players call their own end. In officiated matches, referees call short serves, service foot faults and all kitchen faults. 7.4
- Call out by voice or a pointed finger, and promptly: before the opponent hits the ball or it becomes dead. Otherwise it's in. 7.5
- Before the next score call you may ask the opponents or the referee. A clear call from the opponents stands with no further appeal; so does a clear call from the referee. With no clear answer, your out call stands, or the ball is in. 7.6 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Words to your partner while the ball is in the air are communication, not a line call. 7.7
- You may overrule, in your opponent's favor, your own call, your partner's, a referee's call on appeal, or an in ruling on the opponent's end. 7.8
- Pro brackets: line review and video challenges are used on pro main-draw courts (video only where cameras exist). Where the technology is available, line calls can't be appealed to the referees. PR 6.1, PR 6.3.2
- Losing a review or challenge costs your time-out; with none left it's a Mark, and with a prior Mark or Foul it's a Mark plus a point to the opponent. PR 6.2.4, PR 6.5
Rallies, faults and hindrances
Rulebook: Rules 6 and 8
- Missing the ball completely doesn't end the rally. 6.2
- Trying to change the ball's flight other than with a legal hit, such as blowing on it, is a fault. 6.3
- Distractions are called only for a clear disruption of an opponent's play, and the bar is deliberately high. Rallies aren't stopped for them: afterward, the distracting side loses the rally if it won it, or gets a Mark if it lost it. Stopping play to claim one is a fault. 6.4 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Around-the-post shots are legal and may pass below net height. 6.5
- A net malfunction during a rally means a replay, but a ball that lodges in or passes through a hole in the net loses the rally for whoever hit it. 6.6
- A broken or soft ball is played to the end of the rally. It's replayed only if the ball cracked from one hole to another or split in two. 6.7 Differs from USA Pickleball
- A ball that hits the net post loses the rally for its hitter, unless it bounced in the opponent's court first. 8.2
- On a portable net, a ball that bounces in and then hits the horizontal bar wins the rally for the player who hit it. It's a replay only if it hits the bar before landing. 8.2 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Touching the net system while the ball is live is a fault. 8.2
- It's a plane-of-the-net fault only if your body completely crosses before you hit. Reaching your paddle across is not one, though it can count as a distraction. 8.3.1 Differs from USA Pickleball
- The ball must fully cross to your side before you hit it. 8.3.2
- Being hit by the ball is a fault unless it touches only your paddle or your paddle hand below the wrist. 8.4
- Stopping play once the ball is live is a fault, except to ask for the score, fix a position or score error in time, or call a valid hindrance. Talking to the referee or an opponent during a rally counts as stopping it. 8.5.1, 8.5.2
- A hindrance outside a player's control that materially affects play means a replay, unless a side chooses to concede. An invalid hindrance call is a fault. 8.5.3
- Hitting the ball more than once is legal only in one continuous stroke in one direction by one player. 8.6
- If your shot lands in and spins back over the net untouched, you win the rally. Once it's fully back over, the opponent may reach over to hit it without touching the net. 8.7
- A rally continues even if a player is injured; stopping to help is a fault. 8.8
- An item you drop on your own end isn't a fault unless it lands in the kitchen from a volley or the ball hits it. An item landing on the opponent's end is a fault. 8.10.1, 8.10.2
- Hold only one paddle during a rally, and have it in hand when it touches the ball. 8.11.1, 8.11.2
Time-outs
Rulebook: Rule 10
- Play is continuous: receivers must keep to the server's reasonable pace. Short pauses for a towel, water or a word with a partner or coach are fine. 10.1
- No time-outs before the match. Each team gets one per game to 11 or 15 and two per game to 21, one minute each. 10.3.1, 10.3.2 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Ask for a time-out before the next score call starts, by saying "timeout" or making a T, and wait for it to be acknowledged. A late request is a fault, after which the time-out can be taken. 10.3.3
- A 15-second readiness period follows every time-out; not being ready is a Mark. 10.3.4
- Each player gets one medical time-out per match: three minutes on court, or five in total when treated off court or for bleeding. Taking one without a valid medical reason costs a Foul. 10.4.1, 10.4.4, 10.4.5 Differs from USA Pickleball
- After a medical time-out the player must continue, retire, or (in doubles only) abstain from play. 10.4.6
- An equipment time-out (three minutes on court, five in total) covers problems the player didn't cause; regripping a paddle doesn't qualify. 10.5.1, 10.5.2
- Only the Lead Referee can call a referee time-out, for things like blood on the court or a power cut. 10.6
Coaching and electronics
Rulebook: Rule 11; PR 5
- Coaching is allowed between rallies and during time-outs, but not during a live rally. 11.1 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Players answer for their coaches, family and anyone acting for them. A coach may not make an out call during a rally. 11.2, 11.3
- No headphones, earbuds or audio calls during a match; texting is allowed during a break in play. 11.4 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Pro brackets: phones and connected devices are banned once the match starts unless an exception was approved and disclosed. A violation is a Mark. PR 5.1
Warnings, Marks and Fouls
Rulebook: Rule 12
- There are three sanctions: a Warning (no penalty), a Mark (a blue card) and a Foul (an orange card, which gives the opponent one point). 12.3, 2.24, 2.35 Differs from USA Pickleball
- After a first Mark, every further Mark or Foul gives the opponent a point. A Foul as the first sanction gives a point straight away. 12.5
- At three points awarded through sanctions, play stops for a review by the Head Referee or Tournament Director, and the result is a game forfeit (or a match forfeit in a one-game match). At four, the match is forfeited automatically. 12.5
- Some conduct, such as a thrown paddle that causes damage, means an immediate game forfeit; other conduct, such as physical contact, slurs or spitting, means an immediate match forfeit. 12.6, 12.7
- Before a match starts, a Warning or a one-point penalty at the start of the match may be given instead of a Mark or Foul. 12.2
Retirements, withdrawals and forfeits
Rulebook: Rule 13
- Once a match has begun, the only way to stop is to retire. In doubles, once one partner retires, the other may not play on. 13.2.1 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Instead of retiring, a doubles player can abstain, once per match. Play doesn't stop: the partner plays on alone, the abstaining player's serves are skipped, each rally they would receive is a point to the opponents, and they can rejoin at a break in play. 13.2.2
- A late team loses a point every four minutes after the second call. In best of three, game one is forfeited at 10 minutes and the match at 15; a one-game match is forfeited at 10. 13.4.1 Differs from USA Pickleball
- A forfeited match is recorded as 11-0 in every game needed (or 15-0 or 21-0 for single games). 13.6.2
Officials and self-officiated matches
Rulebook: Rules 14 and 15
- A match can have up to three officials: the Lead Referee, a Second Referee and a Video Review Referee. 14.1.1
- The Lead Referee has the final say on court. Rule interpretations can be appealed to the Head Referee; decisions about what happened can't. 14.1.3, 14.3.1, 14.3.2
- An appeal to the Head Referee that fails, or that concerns what happened rather than a rule, costs a Foul. 14.3.3
- Players can't ask for line judges, but may ask for a Second Referee. 14.5
- With no referee, players call their own lines and faults. You can raise an opponent's suspected fault, but only they can enforce it; if they don't agree, the rally stands. 15.1, 15.3 Differs from USA Pickleball
- Stopping a live rally to claim an opponent's fault that they don't acknowledge is your fault. If partners disagree about their own fault, the rally goes to the opponents. 15.3
- A hindrance is replayed only if all players agree; otherwise the rally stands. Disputes must be raised before the next score call. 15.1, 15.4 Differs from USA Pickleball
- A roaming referee can help only when asked, and can't rule on things seen while passing a court. 15.6