Rules & scoring
Kitchen
also called Non-Volley Zone, NVZ, non-volley zone
The 7-foot zone on either side of the net where players cannot volley the ball. The defining strategic feature of pickleball.
The kitchen — formally the Non-Volley Zone (NVZ) — is a 7-foot strip of court on each side of the net. Players standing in (or with momentum carrying them into) this zone cannot volley the ball, meaning they must let it bounce before hitting it.
Almost every doubles point in pickleball is decided at the kitchen line. Get to the kitchen line, dink with patience, force a pop-up, attack: that's the basic doubles loop. The kitchen's existence is what makes pickleball pickleball — without it the game would be a smaller, slower tennis.
Stepping on the kitchen line during a volley counts as a kitchen violation. Brushing the line on your follow-through after the volley still counts. The rule is strict on purpose — it forces patience.
Related terms
Dink
A soft shot hit from near the kitchen, arcing just over the net into the opponent's kitchen. The fundamental soft-game stroke.
Volley
Hitting the ball out of the air before it bounces. Legal everywhere except inside the non-volley zone.
Kitchen violation
Any contact with the non-volley zone — feet, body, or paddle — while volleying or as momentum carries the player in. Loses the rally.