Whether you’re a new player or an old one, one thing you should know is what an illegal serve is, in pickleball.

For newer players, this is obviously one of the first things to learn, but even professionals and experienced players have to refresh their memory at times!

The line between legal and illegal serves is a thin one, in pickleball. Using an overhand stroke is illegal, as is serving above the waist, or having a paddle head above your wrist. A server that takes more than 10 seconds is also considered illegal.

Pickleball has some pretty straightforward rules, but the serving rules are rather controversial, even among players!

We looked at the rules and asked for the opinions of experienced, long-time players on what is considered illegal when serving to come to an understanding.

Illegal Serves in Pickleball

In pickleball, you only get one chance at serving. If you commit a fault during your serve, the game isn’t nice enough to give you a second chance, so you won’t be able to serve again. On top of that, the only chance you have to score in pickleball, is also while serving!

Therefore, it’s very important to make the post of each serve, and not let it waste away by committing a fault. To make sure you’re serving properly, you need to know what counts as an illegal serve to begin with.

Overhanded Strokes

Unlike in tennis and some other net games, serves in pickleball are made with an underhanded stroke. The underhand serve is what creates an upwards motion, which sends the pickleball arching upwards as well.

That said, overhand strokes are completely fine at any other time within the game, but you can’t serve that way. This is probably because if you serve an overhand stroke, the ball becomes difficult for the other team to hit since it goes flying downwards.

Serving Above the Waist

You can’t serve above the waist in pickleball. This means that the point of contact between the ball and the paddle has to be below the waist, otherwise it is considered illegal.

Paddle Head Above the Wrist

Remember what we said about controversial rules in pickleball? Here’s one of those.

When serving, the face of the paddle has to be below the wrist. Only the handle of the paddle can be above the wrist, or it will be considered an illegal serve. Sounds confusing? It is, even for experienced players.

Serve That Takes Longer Than 10 Seconds

When you serve in pickleball, the score first gets recounted for both, the serving team and the receiving team. When this score is called, you have about 10 seconds to make your serve. If it takes any longer than that, the serve is illegal.

In doubles pickleball, the score also includes the server number, but it doesn’t matter what kind of pickleball you’re playing, the 10-second rule still applies.

Landing in the Kitchen

When you serve, the ball must not just go over the net, it should also clear the kitchen. The kitchen is 7 feet on either side of the net and is also called the no-volley zone. If the ball lands in the kitchen of the opposing team, this is considered a fault of the server, and is illegal.

The kitchen also includes the kitchen line, so if the ball hits the line, this is still considered a fault.

Standing Ahead of the Baseline

When serving, the server should be standing behind the court baseline. If they are standing ahead of it, it is considered a fault.

Hitting the Ball Away From the Adjacent Service Box

Similar to how it is in tennis, the serve is only considered legal if the ball lands in the service box adjacent. If the ball lands anywhere else, the serve is considered illegal, and your serve is over.

Avoiding Illegal Pickleball Serves

Of course, we’re all human, so we can’t expect to never commit a fault when it comes to a game – especially a game like pickleball, where serving rules are so specific.

But there are plenty of ways to avoid the number of illegal serves you end up making, especially since the serve is such an important part of the game!

Practice

When it comes to serves – for pickleball, or for anything else – the best way to become good at it is to practice. To become a better player, you can do drills, and since serves can easily be done on your own, there is no reason not to get your practice in!

You should also make time to practice different types of serves. In 2021, the drop serve was added as a provisional rule and became fully integrated 2022. Before, serving meant that you had to hit the ball out of the air, but now you also have the option to drop the ball.

While you don’t have to serve in a way you’re not comfortable with, practicing each type of serve and becoming good at both means that you can switch between them during games. All you have to do is make sure the ball doesn’t bounce!

Agility

Pickleball is a very fast game and needs a very specific amount of control and agility to be able to play it well. Therefore, no matter how much you practice, if you don’t have good control over your movements, you will likely end up committing some kind of fault.

The good thing is that there are plenty of ways to improve your agility and become better at controlling your movements. By doing so, you will be able to avoid illegal serves and play better.

Refresh Yourself On the Rules

Sometimes, even if you’ve been playing for a long time, you may find that going over the rules a few times can help. Often, players get caught up in their experience of playing and end up forgetting the details of the rules themselves, and might therefore end up committing a fault because of this.

On top of that, sometimes rules also end up changing. This is especially true for professionals since they have to abide by the rules of the International Federation of Pickleball. Reading up on the rules every now and then helps, not just with refreshing your memory and staying on top of rule changes, but also helps with figuring out new ways to improve your technique.

Legal Serves

While there are some clearly labeled legal and illegal services, there are plenty of others that can cause arguments in court because their legality is contested. Some may say they’re considered illegal, while others may say they’re legal.

When playing professionally, it is best to know not just the illegal serves, but also the legal ones. This way you won’t have to hold back from playing a certain way just because you’re not sure if it counts as an illegal serve or not.

Spinning the Ball

While spinning the ball while serving is debated, there is no rule that says that the spin is illegal. All you have to do is make sure you’re abiding by the rest of the serving rules.

Throwing the Ball in the Air

If you’ve played any other net games before, you’d know that some people like to throw the ball in the air before they serve. This is also contested, but again, there are no rules that go against it so it is not considered illegal. This kind of serve can also help get you some extra time for your shot.

Chainsaw Serve

The chainsaw serve is one where the player rolls the ball against the paddle right as the ball is being thrown. This kind of serve became very popular in games in 2021 but was banned in the rules update in 2022. Therefore, the chainsaw serve is now considered illegal.

Backhand Serve

You can serve in pickleball backhand or forehand, as long as you make sure to abide by the rest of the serving rules. While not outright impossible, it becomes very difficult to ensure that the rules are complied with when you use a backhand serve, so unless you’re very good at it and have had a lot of practice, it is best to avoid this, especially in tournaments.

Serving Sideways

The rules of pickleball state that the serving motion should have an upward motion. This means that serving sideways is illegal, and this kind of serve will be considered a fault.

Knowing the rules of any game is important if you want to get better at it. Pickleball does have some strange rules, especially when it comes to serving, but if you keep them in mind and refresh your memory every once in a while, you can avoid making illegal serves as much as possible.