Kitchen Rules & Positioning: Pickleball technique, drills and fixes

The 'kitchen' is the non-volley zone (NVZ): the 7-foot by 20-foot area on each side of the net. You may stand in it any time, but you may not volley (hit the ball before it bounces) while you, or anything touching you, is in it or on its line, and that includes your momentum after the hit. The second half of this skill is positioning: getting to the spot just behind the kitchen line and holding it with your partner. This is a rule and court-awareness skill rather than a stroke, so it's coached here instead of graded by the camera.

Know the no-volley rule

Know the zone: it runs 7 feet from the net, sideline to sideline, on both ends. The kitchen line is part of the kitchen, so a toe on the line counts as in. The zone is only the ground; it does not extend into the air above it.

the line belongs to the kitchen, not to you.

Start every volley with both feet outside the kitchen. While you volley, nothing touching you may touch the kitchen: not your foot, not your paddle tip on the ground, and not your partner if you are holding onto them.

feet behind the line before the ball arrives.

Remember the volley isn't over when the ball leaves your paddle. It lasts until your follow-through momentum stops. If that momentum carries you into the kitchen, it's a fault, even after the ball is dead. A hat or paddle you drop during a volley counts as part of you until it comes to rest.

stop, balance, then move.

You may step into the kitchen at any time to play a ball that has bounced. Standing in there between shots is legal but leaves you unable to volley the next ball, so get back out.

in for the bounce, out for the volley.

After you have touched the kitchen, get both feet back on the ground outside it, with no part touching the line, before you volley again.

two feet out, then the volley is legal.

Control the kitchen line

Plant your feet as close to the kitchen line as you can without touching it. Coaches call this the strongest spot on the court because from there you can volley, take the net away and create angles.

toes just behind the line.

Hold a low athletic stance at the line: knees bent, paddle up in front of you at about waist to chest height between shots, so you react without first lifting the paddle.

low, paddle up, ready to move either way.

In doubles, stay roughly level with your partner and shift sideways together. When your partner moves wide for a ball, slide toward the middle to cover the gap.

moving as a pair, as if tied together.

Don't back away from the line under pressure. Absorb hard balls with a soft reset into the kitchen and keep your position.

holding your ground with soft hands.

Recover to the line

When you step in to dink a bounced ball, step straight back out behind the line before the next ball comes. Expect that the reply may be a ball you need to volley.

dink, then reset your feet.

When you volley near the line, keep the swing short and finish balanced, so your weight stops behind the line. Stay out of the kitchen until you have fully stopped, even if you won the point.

stick the landing behind the line.

If you are pushed back by a lob, turn and move rather than backpedaling. Then work your way forward through the middle of the court (the transition zone) and back to the line with your partner. The transition zone is where you are most exposed, so don't stay there.

turn, chase, then come back up together.

Safety: slips, trips, falls and dives caused 63.3% of the pickleball injuries treated in US emergency rooms among players 60 and older (2010–2019). Warm up for 5–10 minutes, never lunge or dive across the line, and stop if you lose your footing.

balanced feet first, the shot second.

Feel it

You know where the line is without looking down. Your toes sit just behind it, your knees are bent and your paddle is up in front of you. When a ball bounces short, you step in, play it and step back out. When you volley, you finish with your weight stopped behind the line. You and your partner slide side to side as a pair and come back to the line together after a lob.

Fix-its

Your toe is on the line when you volley The line is part of the kitchen. Set your feet a small gap behind it, and check them each time you return to the line.
Your momentum carries you into the kitchen after a volley Use a shorter punch with little backswing and finish balanced. It's still a fault after the ball is dead, so don't step in to celebrate until you have stopped.
You volley right after stepping in for a dink Get both feet back outside first. If you can't get out in time, let the ball bounce and play it off the bounce.
You drift back from the line or stay in the transition zone Plant close to the line and reset hard balls instead of backing up. If you are pushed back, work forward again as soon as you hit a soft shot.
You and your partner split apart Move as a pair. When your partner goes wide, you slide toward the middle.

Drill

In-and-out footwork: start with your toes just behind the line. A partner feeds a short ball; let it bounce, step in and dink it, then step back out with both feet before they feed you a volley. Check your feet each rep.
Volley-to-volley (Pickleball Global Drill Four): stand opposite a partner just behind the kitchen line and keep a volley rally going with little or no swing, contact out in front. Volley in an 'X' (crosscourt) and count the rally. Any touch of the line ends the count.
Dink and move (Pickleball Global Drill Thirteen): doubles points where the ball may only land in the kitchen and no volleys are allowed. Put three markers just inside each kitchen line (left, middle, right). When one partner moves to a dink, the other slides to the middle marker.
Defence vs attack (Pickleball Global Drill Nine): two players at the baseline, two at the kitchen line; play out the point. Baseline players try to work up to the line. Switch roles every 5 points, first to 10.

By position

Doubles: both partners at the line, level with each other, moving side to side together. Don't hold onto a partner who is touching the kitchen while you volley, because that counts as you touching it. Singles: the kitchen rules are exactly the same; you just have the whole width to cover alone.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-26.