Pickleball etiquette, and a printable court sign
The rulebook's few rules on calls, scores and stray balls, kept apart from the courtesies a group asks for, and a one-page sign to pin up. The sign says which is which.
What is pickleball etiquette?
Pickleball etiquette is two things. A few courtesies are in the USA Pickleball rulebook: close calls go to your opponent, the server calls the score, a called hinder is replayed. The rest are house conventions, like saying "ball" or waiting to cross. This page keeps them apart and ends with a printable sign.
| Kind | Examples | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Rulebook | Close calls go to the opponent. The server calls the score. A called hinder is replayed. | 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, section numbers below |
| House convention | Say "ball". Wait for the rally before crossing. Introduce yourself. | Courtesies that clubs, cities and USA Pickleball's sportsmanship guide ask for. Not in the rulebook. |
Rulebook
- Examples
- Close calls go to the opponent. The server calls the score. A called hinder is replayed.
- Where it comes from
- 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, section numbers below
House convention
- Examples
- Say "ball". Wait for the rally before crossing. Introduce yourself.
- Where it comes from
- Courtesies that clubs, cities and USA Pickleball's sportsmanship guide ask for. Not in the rulebook.
The printable court sign
One page, set for US Letter and for A4, in black and white so it prints on a black-and-white printer.
Designed to be read from about 1.5 metres for the rule lines and about 2.5 metres for the headline. We have not yet printed it and read it on a court, so that is a design figure, not a test.
What the rulebook says
| The rule, in short | Where | Sign |
|---|---|---|
| A close line call goes to your opponent. A ball you cannot promptly call out is in. | Rule 8.D | Yes |
| Call a ball out only if you can clearly see a space between the ball and the line. | Rule 8.E | No |
| Each side calls the lines on its own end of the court, and either partner may call. | Rule 8.A | No |
| Make an out call promptly, by voice, hand signal or both. | Rule 8.F | No |
| If partners disagree on a line call, the team's call is in. | Rule 8.H | No |
| The server normally calls the score before serving: two numbers in singles, three in doubles. | Rule 6.B | Yes |
| The whole score must be called before the serve is hit. | Rule 6.C | Yes |
| Serve within 10 seconds of finishing the score call. | Rule 6.D | No |
| Before the score call starts, signal not ready by raising the paddle or the other hand overhead, or by turning your back to the net. | Rule 6.A.1 | No |
| A stray ball or a player from another court that affects your play is a hinder. Any player may call it, and the rally is replayed. | Rule 9.C | Yes |
| Do not question or comment on an opponent's call except through an appeal to a referee. | Principles | No |
House conventions, not rulebook
| The courtesy | Who asks for it | Sign |
|---|---|---|
| Call "ball" loudly when your ball goes onto another court, and wait for it to be returned. | Wellington North, Golden Peak (Vail), BVPA sheet, a club sheet | No |
| Wait for the rally to end before you cross behind or between courts. | Wellington North, a club sheet | Yes |
| Introduce yourself to players you do not know. | Golden Peak (Vail), BVPA sheet, a club sheet, USA Pickleball's sportsmanship guide | Yes |
| Tap paddles or acknowledge the other side when a game ends. | Golden Peak (Vail), USA Pickleball's sportsmanship guide | No |
| Keep foul language and put-downs off the court. | BVPA sheet, USA Pickleball's sportsmanship guide | No |
| Play kindly with the weakest player on the court. | BVPA sheet, a club sheet | No |
| Do not offer advice unless someone asks for it. | BVPA sheet | No |
| Keep phones away while you are playing a game. | Golden Peak (Vail) | No |
| Know where your paddle is in the line and when your turn comes. | Golden Peak (Vail), a club sheet, Wellington North | No |
Why the sign is written this way
The sign has two groups. Under Rulebook are three lines the rulebook backs: close calls go to your opponent, call the score before you serve, and a hinder, which is something that affects play and is called, is replayed. Under House rules are two courtesies, labelled as courtesy so nobody reads them as rules.
The distance comes from a rule of thumb of about 1 inch of capital-letter height per 10 feet, from a sign vendor's table (see sources). It is an estimate: the rule gives about 1.7 metres for 56 pt type, and we say 1.5 to stay under it.
The city and club sheets we read for this page are text lists meant to be read up close (Wellington North, Pickleball Safety and Play Etiquette, Golden Peak Pickleball Center, Etiquette and Safety, and two club sheets). The sign is five short lines meant to be read walking past. It says nothing about a referee, and it is not issued or endorsed by USA Pickleball.
Pin it where a group meets: next to the courts, or by the paddle rack if you use one. If you are starting a group, how to start a pickleball group has a checklist for the first session. For a rotation that suits the crowd, see the round robin guide.
What the rulebook does not say
We searched the text of the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook for "queue", "paddle rack", "winner stay", "winners stay", "open play" and similar words. It has no rule about queues, paddle racks, who plays next or how many games in a row a pair may play, so those are conventions your group sets. How to organize pickleball open play covers them.
Profanity is a rulebook matter only in tournament play: Section 22 lists it as a ground for a referee's warning, and Section 22 is in Part III, Tournament Play. For casual play, treat it as courtesy. USA Pickleball's sportsmanship guide asks players never to use foul language.
Sources read for this page
Each was read on November 2, 2026.
- 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook: the rules above and the search for queue rules.
- USA Pickleball, Essential Sportsmanship Guide: the courtesies marked as USA Pickleball's. The page was last modified September 16, 2026.
- Wellington North, Pickleball Safety and Play Etiquette, Golden Peak Pickleball Center, Etiquette and Safety and two club etiquette sheets, all PDFs: the courtesies marked as club or city.
- Signs NYC, Letter Height and Viewing Distance, a sign vendor's table: the rule of thumb for reading distance. It is a vendor's estimate, not a standard.
Frequently asked questions
What is pickleball etiquette?
Courtesy and fair play on and around the court. The rulebook itself says pickleball requires cooperation and courtesy, and gives a few rules on line calls, the score and stray balls. Everything else, such as saying "ball" or waiting to cross, is a house convention.
Who calls the score in pickleball?
The server normally calls it, as two numbers in singles and three in doubles, and the whole score must be called before the serve is hit (rules 6.B and 6.C). If the server cannot, the server's partner may.
Who makes line calls in pickleball?
Players call the lines on their own end of the court, and in doubles either partner may call (rule 8.A). A call you are not sure of goes to your opponent (rule 8.D).
What is a hinder in pickleball?
A hinder is something not caused by a player that affects play, such as a stray ball or a player from another court. Any player may call it, and the rally is replayed (rule 9.C and the Definitions section).