Court stacking

Court stacking means you and your doubles partner wait on the same side of the court before the serve. As soon as the serve or return is hit, you each move to the side you play best.

Teams do it so each player gets the side that suits them, for example to keep both forehands near the center of the court. It is optional. You do not need it to play.

In doubles, the score decides who serves or returns, and from which side. Stacking does not change that. It only changes where the other partner waits, and where you both go after the ball is hit. This is about where you stand on court, not the paddle queue.

New words are explained under Words used here.

See it on a court

Try each button. In every view, you are your team's starting server: the player chosen to serve first for your team when the game began.

The score call is 2-2-1. Your team is serving, so your score comes first. You have 2, which is even. The last number, 1, means the team's first server is serving.

In this example, you want the left side and your partner wants the right. At an even score, that means you stack.

The Odd score button shows a different example: a pair who want the opposite sides.

Before the serve: Your team's score is even, so you must still serve from the right. Your partner stands on the right too, behind the baseline and clear of the serve.

Your team's labels are filled in and always at the bottom. The dashed line is the serve. Only the side of the server and the returner is a rule. The other spots are common habits, and the distances are not exact.

You only need to stack at half of the scores. At the other half, the side the score gives you is already the side you want, so you play normally. If you are the starting server and you want the right, stack when your team's score is odd. If you want the left, stack when it is even. If you are the partner, it is the reverse.

A good first step: stack only when you serve, with a regular partner. It is a short move with plenty of time. Coaches disagree on whether newer players should stack at all, and there is no official skill level for it.

Is it legal?

Yes. Only the server and the returner have to be on the correct side for the score. Partners can stand anywhere on their own end, on or off the court. One team or both teams may stack. You do not have to stack on every rally.

How to keep track of who serves

This table tells you whose side is whose. It uses your own team's score, both when your team serves and when it receives, and it does not change during the game. Right and left are as you face the net. A player who is not serving or returning may wait anywhere on your end.

Which side each player belongs on, by your team's score
Player	Your team's score is zero or even	Your team's score is odd
Starting server	Right	Left
Partner	Left	Right

To remember: starting server, even right, odd left. Partner, the opposite. If you are not sure, ask before the serve.

Why teams stack

These are coaches' reasons, not rules:

A left-handed and a right-handed player.: This is the most common reason. The left-hander takes the right side and the right-hander takes the left, so both forehands are near the center of the court.
A strong forehand or a weak backhand.: You can keep the better forehand near the center, or keep a weaker backhand away from it.
One faster player.: That player can take the side where they will run back for lobs most often.
A game that is going badly.: Changing sides may put you against an opponent you play better against, or give the other team something new to deal with.

If someone is in the wrong place

The rulebook never uses the word “stacking”. The clear statement is in the handbook for referees, the Officiating Handbook (3.K.1.f and 5.A.2). It tells referees to watch only the correct server and receiver. If an opponent says stacking is not allowed, you can explain this.

Once the ball is in play, you may change sides at any time. Get into position before the score is called. If the serving team changes sides after the score is called, everyone gets back into position and the score is called again.

If the wrong player serves, or someone is in the wrong place:

Someone notices before the serve.: Just fix it. There is no penalty.
Someone stops the rally and is right.: The rally is played again.
Someone stops the rally and is wrong.: It is a fault on the player who stopped it.
Someone notices after the rally.: Normally the result stands, and you correct it before the next rally.
Positions were correct, but the wrong player returned the serve.: It is a fault on the receiving team, even if the rally finished. Someone must point it out before the next serve.

Some guides still say that standing in the wrong place is always a fault. The 2026 rules do not say this. Normally the rally stands and you correct it. The usual serve faults still apply, such as a foot on the court or outside your serving area when you hit the serve.

These rules are for standard USA Pickleball play. Under rally scoring, the side rule is the same and partners may still stand anywhere, but there is only one server per side out. If your host uses fixed sides, ask how it works. For tournaments, check your event's rules.

Step by step: who serves next

Before the game, agree which of you is the starting server. Remember this for the whole game. In tournaments, the starting server wears a marker, usually a wristband. In a casual game you can do the same. That is our suggestion, not a rule.
Before every rally, say your team's score to yourself: even or odd?
Even: the starting server's side is right, and the partner's is left. Odd: the reverse. This never changes.
When your team gets the serve back, whoever belongs on the right serves first.
When the first server loses a rally, the partner serves next, from the side the score gives them. This can be the left.
At the very start of the game the score call is 0-0-2. The starting server serves from the right and counts as server 2, so that team has only one server in its first turn.
When receiving, look at which side the server is on. The serve comes to your court on that same side: your right if they are on their right. The player who belongs there returns it.
Not sure? Ask before the serve. Opponents must answer. In a refereed match, ask the referee.

Common mistakes

Tracking by where people stand.: After you stack, where you stand does not show your correct side. Use the score and the starting server.
Mixing up starting server and first server.: The starting server stays the same all game. The first server can change after every side out. The left and right rule uses the starting server.
The partner hits the return.: That is a fault. Agree who is returning before each serve.
Forgetting that the returner changes.: When the server changes sides, the serve comes to your other court, so your other player returns it.
Stopping play when you are not sure.: If you are wrong, it counts as a fault against you. Ask before the serve instead.
The server moves too early.: The server must still be in the correct serving area when the serve is hit.
Standing in the path of the serve.: A serve that hits the server's partner is a fault on the server. A serve that hits the receiver or the receiver's partner before it lands is a fault on the receiver.

These are tips from coaches, not rules:

Rushing the return.: Hit a good return first, then move. A deep, high return gives you more time to move.
Crossing after a weak return.: Say "stay", and you both remain on your sides.
Both going for the same middle ball.: Agree before the game who takes it.
Not agreeing on signals.: Many pairs use a hand sign behind the back: a fist for stay, an open hand for switch. This is a team habit, not a rule.

A coach's tip, not a rule: there is a harder way to stack when receiving. Your partner waits at the kitchen line on the normal side and makes a hand sign behind their back. If the sign means switch, you both cross the court after the return. The other team cannot see your plan, and you can both stay where you are if the serve is hard to return.

When not to stack

This is advice from coaches, not rules:

You are new. Learn the normal positions first.
One of you keeps losing track of where to go. Go back to normal positions for the rest of the game.
Each of you is just as good on the left as on the right, or all the moving around is costing you points.
It would leave your weaker shot near the center of the court, or move a strong forehand away from the center.
One of you cannot move quickly, or the other team's serve is so fast that you cannot get across in time. In that case, stack only when your team serves.
The other team keeps aiming at the open space while you are moving.

Stacking every time has a cost too. You get no practice on your other side, and a new partner may need you to play there.

Words used here

Baseline:: The back line of the court.
Sideline:: The long line on each side of the court.
Center line:: The line that splits each end into right and left service courts.
Kitchen:: The 7 by 20 foot area beside the net where you may not hit the ball out of the air. Its official name is the non-volley zone.
Kitchen line:: The line at the back of the kitchen.
Serving area:: The space behind the baseline where the server must stand.
Service court:: The box the serve must land in, on either side of the center line. It does not include the kitchen.
Return:: The shot that hits the serve back. The returner, or receiver, is the player who hits it.
Rally:: All the hits from the serve until the ball is out of play.
Fault:: A mistake or broken rule that ends the rally. The team that made it loses that rally.
Even and odd scores:: Even: 0, 2, 4, 6 and so on. Odd: 1, 3, 5, 7 and so on.
Score call:: Three numbers: the serving team's score, the other team's score, then server 1 or 2. Rally scoring uses two numbers.
Starting server:: The player chosen to serve first for your team at the start of the game. This stays the same all game. It is the player you track.
First server:: Whoever serves first after a side out, always from the right. This can change each time.
Second server:: The first server's partner, who serves once the first server loses a rally. This player serves from the side the score gives them, which can be the left.
Forehand:: A shot hit on the same side of your body as your paddle hand.
Backhand:: A shot hit on the other side of your body, across from your paddle hand.
Lob:: A high shot that goes over your head toward the back of the court.
Side out:: The serve passes to the other team.
Rally scoring:: A point on every rally, whoever served.
Side-out scoring:: Only the serving team can score. This is the rulebook's standard format.
Paddle stacking:: A Philippine open-play term for the queue of waiting players' paddles. It has nothing to do with court stacking.

Based on the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook and the February 2026 Officiating Handbook, in our own words. Tips from coaches are advice, not rules. Check your event's rules.