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Pickleball Score Keeper
Match Setup
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How to keep score in pickleball doubles
In traditional pickleball doubles you keep score by calling three numbers before every serve (your score, their score, and whether you are the first or second server, starting at 0-0-2) and only the serving team can win a point; in rally scoring you call two numbers and every rally scores. Traditional games usually go to 11 and rally games to 15, win by 2.
Keeping score trips up almost everyone at first. There are two systems, traditional (also called side-out) and rally. Here is each one the way our staff explain it on the court in Amed.
TRADITIONAL SCORING
Traditional (side-out) scoring
This is the standard format for most rec games and tournaments. The big idea: only the team that is serving can score, so winning back the serve matters. The score is three numbers.
The game starts at 0-0-2
The team that serves first only gets one server to open the game, so the first call is 0-0-2. The first two numbers are the scores and the third is the server number. Starting on the "2" means that team loses the serve after a single lost rally, which keeps serving first from being too big an advantage.
Call three numbers before every serve
You always call three numbers in the same order, no matter who is calling them or when: the serving team score, then the receiving team score, then the server number (1 or 2). So "5-3-2" means the serving team has 5, the receiving team has 3, and the second server is up. Call it before you serve to keep everyone honest and catch mistakes early.
Only the serving team can score
You only win a point while your team is serving. If the receiving team wins the rally, they do not get a point, they get closer to winning the serve. That is the main thing that sets traditional scoring apart from rally.
Win the rally and you switch sides, same server
When your serving team wins a rally, you score a point and you and your partner switch sides of the court. The same person keeps serving, now from the other side. The serve always goes diagonally, to the court across the net from the server.
Lose the rally and the serve moves on
When the serving team loses a rally, nobody moves. If you were the first server, your partner now serves as the second server. If you were already the second server, it is a side-out and the other team takes over the serve. The receiving team never switches sides while it waits.
After a side-out, the player on the right serves
When your team wins the serve back, whoever is standing in the right service court serves first. Use your score to check you are lined up right: when your team score is even, the player who served first for your team this game should be on the right, and when it is odd, on the left. That is only a positioning check though. Unlike rally scoring, traditional has no even-or-odd rule that decides who serves.
RALLY SCORING
Rally scoring
Rally scoring is faster and simpler, which is why we use it for open play. Every rally is worth a point, no matter who served, and the score is just two numbers. Heads up: clubs run rally a few different ways. This is the version we play and our tool uses.
Every rally scores a point
Win the rally, win a point, whether you were serving or receiving. That is the whole idea of rally scoring: quicker games and simpler counting.
The score is two numbers
Just your team score and the other team score. There is no server number, because each team has a single server.
Serve from the right on even, the left on odd
Your team serves from the right service court when your score is even and from the left when it is odd. The serve still goes diagonally.
Win the rally and you switch sides, same server
When your serving team wins, you score and you and your partner switch sides, with the same person serving again from the other side.
Lose the rally and the serve goes straight over
There is no second server. If you serve and lose the point, it is now the other team's serve. The person on their right serves if their score is even, their left if odd.
Winning the game
There is no mandatory score that games must go to, but most commonly traditional is played to 11 and rally to 15. Typically people play win by two, where you have to lead by two points to close it out. You can set the target and switch win by two on or off in the tool.
FAQ
Common scoring questions
How this tool works
This score keeper is built around one idea: the only thing it remembers is the list of rally winners. Everything you see, the score, the server number, who is serving, and where each player stands, is worked out fresh from that list every time. That is why Undo is instant and always right: it just drops the last rally and recalculates. The tool runs entirely in your browser, keeps your game on this device so you can close the tab and come back to it, and never sends your game to a server.
Cite this tool
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Pickleball Score Keeper by Bali Pickleball: https://balipickleball.com/tools/pickleball-score-keeperKEEP READING
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