What Is Rally Scoring In Pickleball And How Does It Work?

Explore the major difference between Side Out scoring and Rally scoring with Rally scoring rules and regulations.

Is pickleball getting boring, or have you lost interest in the game because of its traditional scoring? Traditional scoring, which is also known as the Side Out scoring, is a way to count the points in pickleball. The majority of people find traditional scoring boring because of its slow process and serving team advantage.

On the other hand, Rally scoring is a new way to count scores and is becoming popular because of its uniqueness and fair scoring. Rally score makes pickleball more interesting, and the game ends more quickly than the traditional scoring game. Let’s discuss what Rally scoring is and how to use it in a pickleball match.

Rally Scoring In Pickleball

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States as the game is simple to play, has easy to follow rules, and one can enjoy quality time. But traditional pickleball scoring offers a serving side advantage and it is a slow scoring process that takes hours to end a single match. It not only makes the game one-sided, but players also stop playing the game because of the boring and slow pace of the match.

The Pickleball Association does not determine these rules, but people decided them in the 20th century. The game was invented by a family, and later, it spread all around the United States and currently, it has become one of the most popular games. Its Side Out scoring is slightly difficult to understand, but when you start playing, you become habitual of losing a game as a receiving team.

However, if you use Rally scoring, you may win the game, whether you are serving or receiving the team. Rally scoring is a newly introduced method to count points in pickleball, and its fair scoring made it famous. In Side Out scoring, only the serving team gets scores, while in Rally scoring, both serving and receiving teams can score.

The Rally scoring is simple to play, and the team can wind up the game more quickly than the side-out scoring game. Rally scoring makes the game more exciting and it is faster than the traditional serving game. That’s why people are using Rally scoring more than Side Out scoring.

Pros Of Rally Scoring In Pickleball

Rally pickleball is a fast-paced game, and it ends much quicker. Due to the quick end, it is beneficial for tournament schedules, community matches, and crowded pickleball courts, and more players can play the match.
In rally pickleball games is easier to predict the length of the match as every point is scored as compared to traditional scoring.
Having the possibility of scoring a point on every rally makes the game more exciting, engaging, and suspenseful.
Pickleball rally provides an equal opportunity to players for scoring. Points can be scored by any side, regardless of who serves.

Cons Of Rally Scoring In Pickleball

Due to its simple scoring system, the game loses some strategies and tactics that involve serving and receiving. Most pickleball players also complain that the rally scoring is not as pickleball’s founders designed the game.
In traditional pickleball, serving is an important shot, while in rally pickleball, the role of serve is less important.
The pickleball community is divided into a rally scoring system. Some players prefer rally scoring, while others prefer the traditional scoring system. Due to having mixed opinions, rally pickleball is still not official.
Beginner pickleball players may find it hard to practice their pickleball shots like in traditional pickleball games.

Rules of Rally Scoring

Level 1: Game Starting

I have divided the entire game into multiple levels, and the first level is when you start a game. You can flip a coin or use another method to determine who will serve first. If the game is 4 players, each one takes his position left or right, and remember that you cannot change the position throughout the game if you have once taken it.

Level 2: Serving & Scoring

Let’s say there are two teams, A and B, competing on the pickleball court, and A gets a chance to serve first. The player on the right side of the court will serve in a crosscourt direction. If A wins the rally, it earns a score, or if team B wins a rally, it gets a score.

Here comes an interesting turn, if serving team A loses a rally, it is no longer able to serve without a second server until the receiving team B loses a rally. Additionally, the score will be counted in favor of Team B if Team A loses a rally. Team B will become a serving team and can get a score if it wins the rally.

Who Will Serve On My Side?

When it comes to serving, both of the two players are eager to get the ball. However, we cannot determine who will serve the ball in rally scoring according to the rules. There is an interesting rule that if the score is even, the right-sided player will serve, and if the score is odd, the left-sided player will serve.

Level 3: In The Middle Of Game

There is another Rally scoring rule to keep the game scoring fair and provide equal chances to every team on the court to win. The teams will switch sides after 11 scores and cannot score on a rally if a team reaches 20 scores. After 20 scores, the team needs to score on serve and not on rally, it requires 2 extra scores to win, and the first team to reach 21 wins the game.

Level 4: Winning Strategy

When the game reaches its end, the serving team cannot score on a rally like before, and it needs to win the serve to get a point. In case team A is a winning team that loses serve after 21, team B will get a chance to serve, and team A cannot win until it scores a serve. If Team B scores a rally, it will get a point because Team B has points below 20.

If team A reaches 21 points and wins the game, it continues serving, taking turns between its players until it loses a rally. As A loses the rally, Team B has the right to serve, and it will try to score 21. When Team B serves, Team A needs to score 2 extra points, as I have mentioned above, to win the game; otherwise, the game will be tied.

How Does Freeze Work?

The winning team freezes when it reaches the 21 and cannot score on a rally. The team only gets a score on winning a serve.
The losing team freezes when it reaches 18 points. The team cannot score on the rally and needs to win a serve to get a point.
If the score is tied at 19-19 or becomes 20-19, both teams A and B are frozen. They need to win a serve to get a trophy.
A team needs to score two extra after 21 to win the match. If team A scores 2 extra by winning serves, it can win the match.

Frequently Asked Question

What Team Can Score In Rally Point Scoring?

Both teams on the court can make a score by winning the rally.

How Many Points Do You Need To Win In Rally Scoring?

A team needs to score 21 points to win the game. Once a team reaches 21, it needs to score two extra by winning serves. Both Teams A and B switch sides, reaching 11 points.

What Sports Use Rally Scoring?

Pickleball is not the only sport that uses Rally scoring, tennis, badminton, squash, and volleyball also use Rally scoring.

What Is A Sideout In Pickleball?

A sideout is a turnover of serve from one team to the opposite team. It occurs when a team loses a serve while the opposite team is awarded a serve.

Final Words

Rally or Side Out scoring is fine, but sometimes it makes pickleball matches boring by slowing down their pace. On the other hand, Rally Scoring is a solution to all the technical problems, it is simple to count, has easy rules, has fair scoring and both teams have an equal chance to win the pickleball match.

If you want to enjoy pickleball more than usual, you should use Rally scoring rather than the Side Out scoring. The rules and laws are mentioned above, read them if you are confused.