Fundamentals · Beginner

Pickleball Scoring Explained: How to Keep Score in Doubles

By STRYKX Coaching 6 min read Reviewed Jul 2026

Players calling out the score before a pickleball serve

The short answer

In doubles pickleball, the score is called as three numbers: your team's score, the opponents' score, and whether you're the first or second server (1 or 2) on your team's service turn. Only the serving team can score a point, and the serve passes between partners before switching to the other team, known as a side-out.

Key takeaways

The three-number call: your score, their score, server number (1 or 2).
Only the serving team can score a point.
Each team gets two servers per turn, except the very first serve of the game.
A side-out happens when both servers on a team have lost their serve.

The three-number score call

Before every serve in doubles, the server calls out three numbers: the serving team's score first, the receiving team's score second, and either 1 or 2 to indicate which partner is serving. For example, "4-2-1" means the serving team has 4 points, the opponents have 2, and the first server on the serving team is up. Getting this right matters — see rules for beginners for how this connects to the overall flow of a game.

Why only the serving team scores

This is the rule that surprises most new players coming from other racquet sports. If the returning team wins a rally, they don't get a point — instead, the serve passes to them, and they become the serving team. This makes the serving position genuinely valuable, since it's the only state in which you can add to your score.

How serving passes between partners

In doubles, each team normally gets two server turns per service — one partner serves until they lose a rally, then the serve passes to their partner, who serves until they lose a rally, at which point the serve passes to the other team entirely (a side-out). The one exception is at the very start of the game: the first serving team only gets one server turn before their first side-out.

Doubles pickleball team communicating about serve order — Server 1 and server 2 both get a turn before the serve passes to the other team.

Winning the game

Games are typically played to 11 points, win by 2. If the score reaches 10-10, play continues until one team leads by 2 clear points. Matches are often best-of-three games to 11, though formats vary by league and event.

Next step

Know the
rules cold

Scoring makes more sense once you've got the full rule set down — see the complete beginner's guide to pickleball rules.

Read the guide

Beginner pickleball players learning the game

Frequently asked questions

How do you call the score in pickleball doubles?

The server calls three numbers before each serve: the serving team's score, the receiving team's score, and 1 or 2 to indicate which partner on the serving team is currently serving.

Can the returning team score points in pickleball?

No. Only the serving team can score a point. If the returning team wins a rally, the serve passes to them instead — this is called a side-out, and no point is scored on that rally.

What is a side-out in pickleball?

A side-out is when the serve passes from one team to the other, which happens after both servers on the serving team have lost their serve (or after the very first server turn of the game).

What score do you need to win a pickleball game?

Most games are played to 11 points, and you must win by at least 2 clear points. If the score reaches 10-10, play continues until one team achieves that 2-point lead.