The kitchen rule in one line: you can stand in the kitchen whenever you like, but you cannot volley while you are touching it. A volley is any ball you hit out of the air before it bounces. If the ball has bounced, step in and play it.
Most arguments at social play come from the details: the line, your momentum and your partner. This guide covers each one, using the rulebook Australian pickleball follows.
The short version
- The kitchen is the non-volley zone: the strip of court 7 feet (2.13 m) deep on each side of the net.
- The kitchen line is part of the kitchen. A toe on the line counts as being in.
- You can enter the kitchen at any time, as long as you are not volleying.
- If your momentum from a volley carries you in, it is a fault, even after the ball is dead.
- After you have been in the kitchen, both feet must be back outside it before you volley.
What is the kitchen in pickleball?
The kitchen is the everyday name for the non-volley zone. It is the area of the court within 7 feet (2.13 m) of the net on each side, running the full width of the court from sideline to sideline.
Two details in the definition matter more than the measurement:
- The lines are part of the zone. Every line that bounds the kitchen belongs to the kitchen. If your shoe touches the kitchen line while you volley, you have volleyed from the kitchen.
- The zone is flat. The rulebook describes the non-volley zone as two-dimensional. It is the painted surface, not the air above it. Your paddle can reach over the line to volley a ball, as long as nothing touching you is touching the kitchen.
Australia plays to the same rulebook as the rest of the world. Pickleball Australia's rules and scoring page has a summary and links to the full 2026 rulebook, where the kitchen rules sit in Section 11.
What you can do in the kitchen
Pickleball Australia's summary puts it simply: a player may legally be in the non-volley zone any time other than when volleying. That means you can:
- Step in to hit a ball that has bounced, such as a short dink or a drop shot.
- Stand in the kitchen between shots, or while your partner is hitting.
- Reach over the kitchen line with your paddle to volley, with your feet behind the line.
Staying in is legal, but it is rarely smart. While you are standing in the kitchen you cannot volley anything, so a quick ball at your body wins the point for the other side.
What you cannot do
Section 11 of the rulebook lists three faults. All three are about volleys.
Touching the kitchen while you volley. If you, or anything in contact with you, touches the kitchen during the act of volleying, it is a fault. That includes your paddle touching the ground inside the zone. It also includes your partner: if you are touching your partner while you volley and your partner is standing in the kitchen, the fault is yours.
Letting momentum carry you in. If the momentum from your volley makes you touch the kitchen, it is a fault, even when the ball is already dead. You can hit a clean winner, watch it bounce twice, then stumble onto the line and lose the point. The rulebook says the act of volleying only ends when the movement from your follow-through stops.
Volleying before you are properly out. If you have been in the kitchen, both feet must touch the court completely outside the zone before you volley. Jumping from inside the kitchen and hitting the ball in the air does not count, and neither does having one foot out and one foot still on the line.
Legal or a fault? A quick table
| Situation | Legal? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You step into the kitchen and hit a ball that bounced | Legal | It is not a volley |
| You volley with a toe on the kitchen line | Fault | The line is part of the kitchen |
| You volley from behind the line, then fall forward into the kitchen | Fault | Momentum from the volley carried you in |
| You reach over the line and volley with both feet behind it | Legal | The zone is the surface, not the air above it |
| You hit a bounced ball in the kitchen, then volley the next ball with one foot still inside | Fault | Both feet must be outside the zone first |
| Your serve lands on the kitchen line | Fault | A serve must clear the kitchen, line included |
The kitchen and the serve
The kitchen line is treated differently on a serve. For every other shot, a ball that lands on a line is in. On the serve, the ball has to clear the kitchen and land in the correct service court. A serve that lands in the kitchen or on the kitchen line is a fault against the server.
Who calls a kitchen fault?
In social play there is no referee, so the rulebook leans on honesty. Players are expected to call faults on themselves and their partner as soon as they happen.
Kitchen faults are one of the few faults you are allowed to call on an opponent. If the two teams disagree about whether it happened, the rally is replayed.
A drill to stop foot faults: toe the line
Most kitchen faults are balance mistakes, not rule mistakes. This drill teaches your feet where the line is. You need a partner and a few balls.
- Set your feet. Stand at the kitchen line with your toes a shoe-width behind it. Bend your knees and hold the paddle up in front of your chest.
- Volley softly. Your partner stands at the opposite kitchen line and feeds gentle balls at chest height. Volley each one back to them. Count ten in a row.
- Check after every contact. After each volley, freeze for a second, then glance down. If your feet have crept onto the line, reset and start the count again.
- Add a reach. Your partner now feeds balls that land shorter, so you have to reach over the kitchen. Lean from the hips and keep your weight on the balls of your feet. Ten in a row.
- Add the step in. Your partner mixes in short dinks that bounce in the kitchen. Step in, hit the bounced ball, then get both feet back behind the line before the next volley.
If you keep falling forward, start a little further back. A balanced volley from behind the line beats a fault on it.
How your paddle fits in
Kitchen play is a soft game of dinks, resets and blocks, which is the job a control paddle is built for. Our 16 mm Dinkwell Carbon Paddle has a raw carbon fibre face on a foam core and is the one we suggest for players who spend most of each rally at the kitchen line. Our guide to 13 mm vs 16 mm paddle thickness explains why a thicker core feels calmer on soft shots, and the guide to paddle head shapes covers reach at the net.
Every Dinkwell paddle comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, counted from delivery.
Common questions
Can you step in the kitchen in pickleball?
Yes. You can step into the kitchen at any time, as long as you are not volleying. The usual reason to go in is to hit a short ball that has already bounced.
Is the kitchen line in or out?
For a volley, the line is part of the kitchen, so touching it counts as being in the kitchen. For a serve, a ball that lands on the kitchen line is a fault. For every other shot, a ball that lands on the kitchen line is in.
Can my paddle cross the kitchen line?
Yes. The kitchen is the court surface, not the space above it. You can reach over the line to volley, as long as your feet, your paddle and anything else touching you stay off the kitchen surface.
What happens if I fall into the kitchen after the point is over?
If the fall came from the momentum of a volley, it is still a fault, even though the ball was dead. If you were not volleying, nothing happens.