In singles the score is two numbers, your score then your opponent’s, and every game starts at 0–0. You serve from the right when your score is even and from the left when it’s odd, and you keep serving until you lose a rally.
Everything else you know from doubles still applies: the same court, the same serve, the two-bounce rule and the kitchen. What changes is the scoring, and with only one of you on each side, it’s simpler than doubles. Every rule here is from the 2026 USA Pickleball rulebook, with its number.
How do you keep score in singles?
The server calls two numbers before each serve: the server’s score, then the receiver’s (rule 6.B.1). There’s no third number, because there’s no second server. The first call of a game is “zero, zero.”
Only the server scores (rule 4.A). Win a rally on your serve and you get a point and serve again. Lose it and it’s a side out: your opponent serves (rules 5.A.2 and 5.A.3). A game goes to 11, win by 2 (section 1).
Which side do you serve from?
Your own score decides it. Even, including zero, and you serve from the right; odd, from the left. The serve goes diagonally, into your opponent’s right or left service court to match (rule 5.A.1).
A few rallies from the start of a game:
| What happened | The call | Who serves, from where |
|---|---|---|
| The game starts, you serve | 0–0 | You, from the right |
| You win the rally | 1–0 | You, from the left |
| You win again | 2–0 | You, from the right |
| You lose the rally: side out | 0–2 | Your opponent, from the right |
| Your opponent wins the rally | 1–2 | Your opponent, from the left |
That makes the score self-checking. If the server is standing on the wrong side for their score, one of the numbers is wrong.
Rally scoring in singles
Rally scoring is allowed in singles too (rule 14.A). Every rally scores, whoever served, and the call is still two numbers, server first (rules 14.A.2 and 14.A.3). Whoever wins a rally on the other player’s serve gets the point and the serve, and serves from the side their new score gives them. Our rally scoring guide covers the rest.
What else changes from doubles?
The court is the same size for singles and doubles, 20 by 44 feet (rule 3.A.1), so you cover its whole width alone. The two-bounce rule, the kitchen and the line calls are the same (rules 10.A, 11.A and 8.A). In a 2023 study of 53 recreational players averaging 62, singles players took about 3,300 steps an hour against 2,800 in doubles, at about the same average heart rate; our calories guide has the details.
Because each player has only one turn at the serve, a side out comes after every lost serve, not every second one. You can’t lean on a partner to win the serve back.
Keeping score on your own
In singles there’s no partner to check the score with. Rally Trace keeps a side-out game on your Apple Watch, in singles or doubles: tap the side that won each rally, and it keeps the score and the server, and calls the score out loud. Scoring is free, and so is your record against every opponent on iPhone.
Questions
How do you keep score in singles pickleball?
Call two numbers before each serve, the server’s score then the receiver’s, starting at 0–0 (rule 6.B.1). Only the server scores, and losing a rally on your serve is a side out.
Which side do you serve from in singles?
From the right when your score is even, zero included, and from the left when it’s odd (rule 5.A.1).
Is singles pickleball played to 11?
Yes, usually to 11, win by 2, the same as doubles. Tournaments may also play to 15 or 21 (rule 15.C).
Is singles pickleball harder than doubles?
It covers more ground: in a 2023 study of 53 players averaging 62, singles players took about 3,300 steps an hour against 2,800 in doubles, at about the same average heart rate. The scoring is simpler, with one server a side.
Sources
- USA Pickleball, 2026 Official Rulebook (section 1; rules 3.A.1, 4.A, 5.A, 6.B.1, 8.A, 10.A, 11.A, 14.A and 15.C)
- Webber et al., Physical activity intensity of singles and doubles pickleball in older adults, J Aging Phys Act, 2023 (steps an hour in singles and doubles)