Pickleball Positioning: Where Do You Stand on the Court?

In all scenarios, whether you’re serving or returning, and whether you’re playing doubles or singles, your goal should be to advance to the edge of the Non-Volley Zone as soon as you’re able.

Once you’ve learned the basic rules of pickleball, the next step is to learn about pickleball positioning.

Player Positioning in Doubles Pickleball

When You’re Serving:
When you’re serving in doubles pickleball, you must stand behind the baseline.
On the first serve, you must stand on the right (“even”) side of the court.
If your team scores a point, the server moves to the left (“odd”) side of the court.
The server continues to alternate sides until they lose the serve.

When You’re Receiving:
If you’re returning the serve, position yourself slightly behind the baseline, so that you have plenty of time to react to the serve.
If you’re on the receiving team, but not returning the serve, stand up near the net, just behind the Non-Volley Zone line. This is where you have the most advantage in pickleball.

Player Positioning in Singles Pickleball

When You’re Serving:
When you’re serving in singles pickleball, you must stand behind the baseline.
The server serves from the right (“even”) court when their score is even, and left (“odd”) when the score is odd.

When You’re Receiving:
The best singles player positioning for returning the serve is near the baseline and close to the centerline, so you have plenty of time to react.
When serving, many players will aim a powerful shot towards the corner, so be ready to return it.

When considering pickleball positioning, remember that the rules state that a shot hit to you has to bounce before you can return it. Position yourself so that there’s room for the ball to bounce and for you to make a solid return.

In all scenarios, whether you’re serving or returning, and whether you’re playing doubles or singles, your goal should be to advance to the edge of the Non-Volley Zone as soon as you’re able.

When you’re at the edge of the Non-Volley Zone, that’s when you’ll have the most opportunities to score!

Contributed by Pickleheads.