What Is the Kitchen in Pickleball? (You Are Allowed to Stand in It)
Invalid Date · 4 min read
Somebody yelled "kitchen!" at you and you froze, which is the correct instinct and also probably unnecessary.
Here is the whole rule in one sentence: the kitchen is the 7-foot area on each side of the net, and you cannot hit the ball out of the air while touching it. That is it. Everything else people say about the kitchen is a variation on that sentence or a misunderstanding of it.
You are allowed to stand in it
This is the part that surprises people who have been playing for months.
You can walk into the kitchen. You can stand in the kitchen. You can have a full conversation in the kitchen. You can hit the ball from inside the kitchen, as long as it bounced first.
The only forbidden thing is the volley, which means hitting the ball before it touches the ground. Volley plus kitchen equals fault. Bounce first, and you can hit it from anywhere on your side.
The reason this trips people up is that the rule is almost always explained as "stay out of the kitchen", which is not the rule. It is shorthand for a strategy, and it made you worse at the sport.
Its real name, which nobody uses
Officially it is the non-volley zone. The name is actually clearer than "kitchen": it tells you what you cannot do there instead of just marking a place you should fear.
Nobody calls it that. Say "non-volley zone" at a public court and you will be identified immediately as someone who has read the rulebook, which cuts in both directions.
The part that catches everyone
Here is the version of the rule that costs real points.
If you volley the ball while standing outside the kitchen, and your momentum then carries you into the kitchen, that is still a fault. Even though you were clearly outside when you made contact.
The rule follows through with your body. You have to volley, land, and re-establish your balance outside the line. If you hit a satisfying overhead, take two steps in from the follow-through, and then celebrate, you lost the point you just won.
The same goes for anything you are touching. Your paddle dropping into the zone, your hat falling in, your shoelace on the line: all faults, on the same principle.
Where you should actually be standing
Now that you know you are allowed in there, the strategy makes more sense.
The best place to be for most of a rally is right at the kitchen line, toes behind it, not inside it. From there you can reach short balls and you can volley anything that comes at you above the net.
The worst place to be is the middle of your own side, halfway between the baseline and the kitchen line. Every ball arrives at your ankles there, and you spend the rally reacting instead of choosing. Most recreational players live in that spot because the kitchen line feels dangerous.
The kitchen line is not dangerous. It is where the points are.
Quick answers to the questions that follow
Can I jump over the kitchen? Yes. If you take off from outside, hit the volley in the air, and land outside, that is legal. It is also called an Erne and it looks fantastic when it works.
Can I step in to hit a dink? Yes, as long as the ball bounced. That is a normal, legal shot.
What if my partner is in the kitchen and I volley? Only the player who hits the ball matters. Your partner can stand wherever.
Does the line count as the kitchen? Yes. The line is part of the zone. Touching it while volleying is a fault, which is why "toes behind the line" is the coaching cue and not "toes on the line".
The summary you can take to the court
Stand at the line. Do not volley from inside it. Watch your follow-through. If the ball bounces, go get it wherever it lands.
If you get it wrong, somebody will tell you, loudly, and it will be the most enthusiasm anyone has shown you all week.
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