How to Keep Score in Pickleball (Without Getting Lost)

If you are trying to learn how to score pickleball and somebody has already told you the game starts at “0-0-2,” you may have had a reasonable follow-up question:

What does any of that mean?

Good news. Pickleball scoring is not actually that bad once someone explains the pieces in the right order.

We’re going to start from absolute zero. No assuming you know what a side out is. No odd/even positioning puzzle in paragraph three. We’ll get to the weird stuff after the normal stuff makes sense.

For our examples, we have Team Purple, Mia and Jake, playing Team Yellow, Sam and Alex.

Because Team A and Team B have all the personality of tax forms.

The 30-Second Version

If you need the quickest possible explanation, here it is:

• Only the serving team scores a point under traditional pickleball scoring.
• Doubles scores have three numbers: our score, their score, and which server we are on.
• Each doubles team normally has two players who get a chance to serve during its serving turn: Server 1 and Server 2.
• If Server 1 loses a rally, the serve passes to their partner, Server 2.
• If Server 2 loses a rally, the other team gets the serve. That is called a side out.
• When the serving team scores a point, the two serving teammates switch sides and the same person keeps serving.

That is the basic machine.

Now let’s take it apart.

Pickleball Scoring, Explained Like You’ve Never Played Before

What is a rally?

A rally is one round of play.

Someone serves. The teams hit the ball back and forth. Eventually somebody misses, hits the ball out, puts it into the net, or commits another fault.

Rally over.

Then everyone figures out what happens next.

What is the serving team?

One team has the serve.

That means one player on that team starts the rally by serving the ball.

The other team is the receiving team.

Under traditional pickleball scoring, only the serving team can score a point.

So if Team Purple is serving and Purple wins the rally:

Purple gets a point.

If Team Yellow wins the rally while Purple is serving:

Yellow does not get a point.

Yellow has still accomplished something useful. They stopped Purple from scoring and may have knocked Purple off that server.

What are Server 1 and Server 2?

In doubles, both partners normally get an opportunity to serve before the other team takes over.

The first player serving during that team’s serving turn is Server 1.

If Server 1 loses a rally, their partner becomes Server 2.

Server 2 keeps serving as long as the team keeps winning points.

If Server 2 loses a rally, the serving turn is over.

Think of Server 1 and Server 2 as two serving chances for the team.

Not two serves total. A server can keep serving for several rallies if the team keeps scoring.

What is a side out?

A side out simply means:

Your team’s serving turn is over, and the other team gets the serve.

That’s it.

If Mia is Server 1 for Purple and loses, Purple still has Jake as Server 2.

If Jake then loses, Purple is out of servers.

Now Yellow gets the serve.

That change is a side out.

Fancy pickleball phrase. Very normal concept.

What Do the Three Numbers Mean?

Now the score call should make more sense.

Suppose Team Purple is serving and Mia calls:

4-2-1

That means:

4: Purple has 4 points.

2: Yellow has 2 points.

1: Purple is currently on Server 1.

The memory trick is:

Our score. Their score. Which server.

If Mia loses the rally and Jake becomes Server 2, nobody scored.

So the score becomes:

4-2-2

The first two numbers stay exactly the same.

Only the server number changes.

If Jake then loses, it is a side out and Yellow gets the serve.

Yellow’s score now gets called first because Yellow is serving:

2-4-1

Same game. Same actual score.

We just say the serving team’s number first.

Why Does Pickleball Start at 0-0-2?

Now we can explain the famous:

0-0-2

At the very beginning of a doubles game, the team that serves first gets only one player serving before the first side out.

They do not get a normal Server 1 and Server 2 sequence.

So the opening player is treated as Server 2.

That gives us:

0: We have zero points.

0: They have zero points.

2: We are already on our team’s final server.

If that opening server loses the rally, it is immediately a side out and the other team gets the serve.

Why do it this way?

It reduces the advantage of getting the first serve.

After that opening exception, both players on a team normally get their serving chance before a side out.

Let’s Play Through One Serving Turn

This is where the pieces come together.

Team Purple has Mia and Jake.

Team Yellow has Sam and Alex.

Purple gets the serve.

Let’s say the score is:

0-1-1

Mia is Server 1 and starts serving from the right side.

Mia wins the rally

Purple was serving, so Purple gets a point.

The score becomes:

1-1-1

Because Purple scored, Mia and Jake switch sides.

Mia moves from the right to the left.

Jake moves from the left to the right.

Mia is still Server 1 and serves again.

Mia loses the next rally

Yellow wins the rally.

Yellow does not get a point because Yellow was receiving.

Purple does not switch sides.

Mia stays on the left.

Jake stays on the right.

The serve simply passes from Mia to Jake.

Now Jake is Server 2.

Purple calls:

1-1-2

And Jake serves from the right, because that is where Jake is already correctly positioned.

Nobody moves just because the serve changed players.

This is an important rule:

Score a point = switch sides.

Change from Server 1 to Server 2 = stay where you are.

Jake wins the rally

Purple scores again.

Now the score is:

2-1-2

Because Purple scored, Mia and Jake switch sides.

Jake moves from the right to the left and keeps serving.

Mia moves back to the right.

Same server. New side.

Jake loses the next rally

Jake is Purple’s Server 2.

Yellow wins.

Purple does not score.

Jake was the second server, so Purple’s serving turn is finished.

Side out.

Yellow now gets the serve.

See? We promised there was a method hiding under all those numbers.

Now for the Weird Part: Where Should Everyone Stand?

Once the basic scoring cycle makes sense, we can add the odd/even rule.

At the beginning of the game, remember which person served first for each team.

For Team Purple, let’s say that was Mia.

Mia is Purple’s Starting Server.

That label stays with Mia for the whole game.

Use Mia as Purple’s position check:

If Purple’s score is even, Mia should be on the right.

If Purple’s score is odd, Mia should be on the left.

Jake will be on the opposite side.

This is where beginners often get tripped up:

Odd and even do not tell every current server which side to serve from.

They tell you where the team’s Starting Server belongs.

Remember our earlier example?

Purple had 1 point.

One is odd.

Mia, Purple’s Starting Server, was on the left.

Jake was on the right.

So when Mia lost her serve, Jake became Server 2 and served from the right.

Nothing was wrong.

The odd score was actually confirming that Mia was exactly where she belonged.

What If Purple Gets the Serve Back With an Odd Score?

This is the last weird piece.

Suppose Purple loses the serve, Yellow serves for a while, and eventually Purple gets the ball back.

Purple still has 1 point.

Because 1 is odd:

Mia belongs on the left.

That means:

Jake belongs on the right.

When Purple gets the serve back, the first serve begins with the player correctly positioned on the right.

So this time Jake becomes Server 1.

If Yellow has 3 points, Jake calls:

1-3-1

Mia is still Purple’s Starting Server.

Jake is Server 1 for this serving turn.

Those are two different jobs.

If that feels unnecessarily confusing, we will not argue with you.

Pickleball chose the terminology. We’re just trying to survive it.

How Singles Pickleball Scoring Works

Good news.

Singles is much simpler.

There is no Server 1 and Server 2 because each side has only one player.

You call two numbers:

Server’s score. Receiver’s score.

Under traditional scoring, only the server can score.

And in singles, the odd/even rule really does tell the server where to serve from:

Even server score = serve from the right.

Odd server score = serve from the left.

So:

0-0: right

1-0: left

2-0: right

If you can identify odd and even numbers, congratulations.

You have completed the mathematics portion of singles pickleball.

What About Rally Scoring?

You may also hear the words rally scoring, particularly around leagues or tournaments.

That is a different scoring system.

Under rally scoring, the winner of a rally can earn a point regardless of which team served. The serving rotation and score call also work differently from the traditional doubles system we have explained here.

If you are brand new and playing normal recreational doubles, learn traditional side-out scoring first.

If a league or tournament tells you it is using rally scoring, use the rules for that format instead.

That is enough chaos for one afternoon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 0-0-2 mean in pickleball?

In doubles, 0-0-2 means the serving team has zero points, the receiving team has zero points, and the serving team is on Server 2. The opening team starts at Server 2 because only one player serves during the game’s first serving turn.

What is a side out in pickleball?

A side out means the current serving team’s turn is over and the other team gets the serve. In normal doubles play, this usually happens when Server 2 loses a rally. At the beginning of the game, the opening server is already treated as Server 2.

What do the three numbers mean?

The three numbers are the serving team’s score, the receiving team’s score, and the current server number. For example, 4-2-1 means the serving team has 4 points, the receiving team has 2, and the serving team is currently on Server 1.

Does Server 2 always serve from the left?

No. Server 2 serves from whichever side they are correctly standing on when Server 1 loses the rally. The teammates do not switch sides simply because the serve passes from Server 1 to Server 2.

When do doubles partners switch sides?

Serving partners switch sides when their team scores a point. They do not switch when Server 1 loses the rally and the serve passes to Server 2.

Who becomes Server 1 after a side out?

The player correctly positioned on the right begins the new serving turn as Server 1. Which partner that is depends on the team’s score and where the team’s Starting Server correctly belongs.

How does singles scoring work?

Singles uses two numbers: the server’s score followed by the receiver’s score. Under traditional scoring, only the server earns points. An even server score serves from the right, while an odd server score serves from the left.

Pickleball Scoring Cheat Sheet

If your brain decides to delete everything you just read the second you walk onto the court, keep this part:

Serving team wins a rally:

They score a point. The serving teammates switch sides. The same player serves again.

Receiving team beats Server 1:

No point. Nobody switches sides. The serve passes to Server 2.

Receiving team beats Server 2:

No point. Side out. The other team gets the serve.

Side out:

The other team gets the serve.

Doubles score:

Our score. Their score. Which server.

Opening score:

0-0-2.

Starting Server position check:

Even team score = Starting Server on the right.

Odd team score = Starting Server on the left.

And if the whole Server 1, Server 2 thing starts turning into a Wi-Fi password again, remember the easiest rule of all:

Scored a point? Switch sides.

Just changed servers? Stay put.

That one will get you surprisingly far.

New to the game beyond scoring? We put together a full guide to the beginner paddles we currently recommend.

See our beginner paddle guide:
The 8 Best Pickleball Paddles for Beginners