With the rise of so many different racket & paddle sports that look like each other in the last century, its easy to get confused by the actual rules of each game. One of the particularly confusing rules to keep track of are how points are scored across each sport. Do Paddle Tennis and Pickleball have the same scoring system? What about Tennis and Pickleball?
When thinking about these things, you might be asking yourself: does pickleball use rally scoring? The answer is no, and we will explain why in this post.
What is rally scoring?
Rally scoring is a scoring system used in racket sports where both teams can win points regardless of who is serving. In other words, whichever team wins the rally is awarded a point. This is largely in contrast to the scoring system by the name of “side-out” scoring.
Does Pickleball use Rally Scoring?
Pickleball does not use a rally scoring system. Pickleball uses a sideout scoring system. However, some amateur Pickleballers have oftentimes opted to use a rally scoring system when they play for fun. Nothing is stopping you from doing this with your friends. But if you plan to play competitvely in official leagues, get ready for some sideout scoring.
What is side-out scoring?
Sideout scoring is simply the scoring system by which the only way you can score is if you are the serving team. So if you are not serving and win the volley, you will not win a point. Sideout scoring is the main scoring system in Volleyball as well as Pickleball. When you aren’t serving and you win the volley, although you don’t win a point you will win the privelidge of serving by which you can win points.
Conclusion
Pickleball uses sideout scoring where you can only win a point if you are serving. Most racket sports like tennis and badminton use rally scoring, but this isn’t the case in official Pickleball play.