Rules
The double bounce rule in pickleball
Last reviewed August 2026 · 2026 USA Pickleball Rulebook
The double bounce rule (officially the two-bounce rule) means the ball must bounce once on each side before anyone may volley. The receiving team lets the serve bounce, then the serving team lets the return bounce. After those two bounces, volleys are open. Hitting either of the first two shots out of the air is a fault (USA Pickleball Rule 10.A).
How the double bounce rule works
Every rally starts with the same two obligations. The serve must bounce before the receiving team hits it. The return must bounce before the serving team hits it. That's the whole rule, and it ends there: from the third shot on, either side may volley or play off the bounce.
This is why you can't serve and charge the net the way tennis players do. The rule exists to take away the serving team's biggest advantage. If the server could crash forward and smash the return out of the air, rallies would end on the third shot and the receiving team would barely touch the ball. Two forced bounces give both teams time to reach their positions and make the rally happen.
One precise consequence most pages miss: the third shot of a rally is always played off a bounce. Volleying the return is exactly what Rule 10.A.2 forbids, so the serving team's third shot follows the return's bounce every time. The first shot that can legally be a volley is the fourth.
Double bounce rule vs two bounce rule: two names, one rule
They are the same rule, and the official name is the two-bounce rule. Rule 10.A says the serve and the return of serve must each bounce before being returned. One bounce per side, two bounces total: hence the name.
Here is where the confusion comes from. In the rulebook's own definitions, a "double bounce" is something different: the ball bouncing twice on one side before it's returned, which loses the rally (Rule 10.B.1). So officially, "two-bounce" is the rule about starting a rally, and "double bounce" is a fault you commit by being too slow to a dink. In everyday play, almost everyone says "double bounce rule" and means the serve-and-return rule. Both names point at this page, so we use both. When you cite the rulebook, cite 10.A.
Does the ball have to bounce in pickleball?
Only on the first two shots of each rally. After the serve has bounced and the return has bounced, the ball never has to bounce again. It just can't bounce twice.
That second half matters as much as the first. Any ball that bounces on your side must be returned before it bounces again (Rule 10.B), anywhere on the court, kitchen included. And "volleys are open" never overrides the kitchen rule: you still can't volley while touching the non-volley zone, no matter how many bounces have happened.
Is this legal? Real-game verdicts
The serve floats short and sits up. The receiver steps in and smashes it out of the air before it lands.
Fault against the receiver. The serve must bounce before it is returned. A short, high serve is still a serve. USA Pickleball Rule 10.A.1
Your partner serves. The return drifts back slow and high, so you take it out of the air at the net to end the point early.
Fault against the serving side. The return of serve must bounce before the server or the server's partner hits it. The rally is over and the serve is lost. USA Pickleball Rule 10.A.2
The return bounces, the server lifts a third-shot drop, and the receiver's partner volleys it at the kitchen line, feet behind the line.
Legal. Both required bounces happened: the serve bounced, the return bounced. From the fourth shot on, any ball may be volleyed from outside the kitchen. USA Pickleball Rule 10.A
A soft dink drops into your kitchen. You read it late, and the ball bounces a second time just as your paddle arrives.
Fault against you. A ball may bounce only once on your side before you return it. Where the bounces landed makes no difference. USA Pickleball Rule 10.B.1
Using a drop serve, the server drops the ball, lets it bounce twice, then hits the serve.
Legal. Bounces before the serve is struck are part of the drop serve and may happen any number of times, anywhere on the playing surface. The two-bounce rule starts counting only after the serve is hit, so the receiver must still let the serve bounce. USA Pickleball Rule 7.D.3
Your drive bounces twice in front of a wheelchair player, who then returns it.
Legal for them. A wheelchair player may let the ball bounce twice before returning it; the third bounce would end the rally. Standing players in the same match play the standard one-bounce rule. USA Pickleball Rule 25.A.9
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: "Double bounce rule means the ball may bounce twice."
Not for a standing player. One bounce per side is the maximum (Rule 10.B.1). The everyday name causes this exact mix-up, which is why the rulebook calls it the two-bounce rule: one bounce on each side.
Misunderstanding: "It only applies in doubles."
Not true. Singles rallies start with the same two bounces: serve bounces, return bounces, then volleys are open.
Misunderstanding: "Once the serve bounces, you can volley."
Not yet. The return must bounce too. That's why the third shot is always played off the bounce, and the fourth shot is the first legal volley.
Misunderstanding: "Both bounces can happen on the same side."
Not true. The rule requires one bounce on each side: the serve bounces on the receiving side, the return bounces on the serving side. Two bounces on one side is a different thing entirely: a rally-ending fault.
Under the official rule
- Rule 10.A The two-bounce rule: the serve and the return of serve must each bounce before being returned.
- Rule 10.A.1 Fault against the receiver if the serve is hit before it bounces.
- Rule 10.A.2 Fault against the serving side if the server or their partner hits the return before it bounces.
- Rule 10.B.1 Fault if a player lets the ball bounce twice on their side before returning it (the official meaning of "double bounce").
- Rule 7.D.3 On a drop serve, the ball may bounce any number of times before the serve is hit; those bounces do not count.
- Rule 25.A.9 Wheelchair players may let the ball bounce twice before returning it.
Paraphrased from the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, always the final authority.
Related questions
Can the ball bounce twice in pickleball?
No. Once the ball bounces on your side, you must return it before it bounces again. A second bounce is a fault against you (Rule 10.B.1). The one exception: wheelchair players may take the ball after two bounces (Rule 25.A.9).
How many times can the ball bounce in pickleball?
At most once on each side. The first two shots of every rally must bounce (the serve and the return), and no shot may ever bounce twice on one side before it is returned.
Do you have to let the ball bounce in pickleball?
Only twice per rally: the receiver lets the serve bounce, and the serving team lets the return bounce. From the third shot on, bouncing is optional. You may volley, as long as you are not touching the kitchen when you do.
What is the two shot rule in pickleball?
Most players mean the two-bounce rule: the first two shots of a rally (the serve and the return) must bounce before being hit. Some use it for double hits, which are legal only as one continuous, unintentional stroke in a single direction (Rule 10.D).
Can the second bounce land in the kitchen?
Location does not save you. If a ball bounces twice on your side before you return it, the rally is over no matter where either bounce landed, kitchen included. Short dinks are dangerous for exactly this reason.
Does the double bounce rule apply in singles?
Yes, identically. The serve must bounce before the receiver hits it, and the return must bounce before the server hits it. Rule 10.A makes no distinction between singles and doubles.