2024 Pickleball Rule Changes

This post has been updated in 2026 according to the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook (2026).

This post lists rule changes from prior years. To view the current year (2026) rule changes, please click here.

Pickleball rules changes for 2024 have now been implemented. While there were 92 rule changes proposed for 2024, just 27 of the 92 were officially adopted – with most being minor wordsmith clarifications.

The Results are In

Here are some rule change proposal outcomes of note in 2024:

A decision on rally scoring was once again punted with the board, instead, opting to “collect more data.”
Making the drop serve the only valid serve type – therefore, making the volley serve illegal to hit – was voted down. (Both the volley serve and drop serve continue to be legal in 2024)
The most impactful change being implemented, particularly for amateur players, was with respect to a “carry” and double-hit. A carry – whether deliberate or not – is now deemed illegal. A double hit remains legal – as long as it is done in one continuous, single-stroke motion.

PPA Serve Rule Changes – Experimentation in 2024

Although this is a rule change blog post that addresses the USA Pickleball rule changes for 2024, there is considerable misinformation floating out there in forums and social networks – particularly with respect to the volley serve.

With the streaming of professional PPA pickleball matches becoming so prevalent, there’s little wonder that confusion persists. To alleviate confusion, it’s imperative to understand that – although the PPA professional pickleball tour follows “most” rules published by USA Pickleball – they, in fact, do not abide by every rule. Unfortunately, the rules between USA Pickleball and the PPA professional tour are not identical.

With that as a background, the PPA tour (for professionals only), is currently testing out a rule (first tested and implemented at the 2024 PPA Masters) that makes it illegal to toss the ball up on the volley serve. This experimentation is done, presumably, to make the serve a bit less weaponized at the professional level.

But just to reiterate, this is for professionals only on the PPA Tour only. The PPA Tour will, no doubt, review the serving analytics to determine if it ultimately becomes permanent on their professional tour.

Us mere mortals (non-professionals) who abide by the official USA Pickleball rules can, indeed, still toss the ball up on the volley serve.

A Peek Behind the Curtain at the USA Pickleball Rule Change process for 2024.

Beginning March 1, 2023 – and continuing through May 15, 2023 – members of USA Pickleball proposed rule changes for the 2024 rulebook. These proposed new rules were captured by USA Pickleball in the New Rulebook Database.

Members were then allowed to comment on any proposed rule changes through May 31, 2023. Proposing rule changes and commenting on proposed rule changes is your opportunity to directly influence how the game of pickleball is played.

Other Rule Changes

The rules are changed and updated every year. See below for other rule changes:

For information on all of the Pickleball Rules, check out our complete guide.

Final Thoughts

What about you? Are there any rules you would like to be added/changed to the official pickleball rulebook? Please leave your comments below. It’s all of us who will continue to advance the game and make it better and better!

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