Pickleball Glossary

Short, sourced definitions of pickleball terms. Each entry starts with a one-line definition you can quote, then explains the details.

DUPR (also: Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating)

DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) is a pickleball skill rating on a scale from 2.000 to 8.000. It is calculated from your match results compared with the expected outcome. New players start as NR (Not Rated).

Non-volley zone (also: Kitchen, NVZ)

The non-volley zone (often called the kitchen) is the 7-foot by 20-foot area of the court next to the net on each side. Its lines are part of the zone, and a player may not volley the ball while touching it.

Rally scoring (also: Rally point scoring)

Rally scoring is a scoring method in which the singles player or doubles team that wins each rally scores a point, whether or not they were serving. Under the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, side-out scoring is still the standard, and rally scoring is a provisionally approved option (Rule 14.A).

Skinny singles (also: Mini-singles, Half-court singles)

Skinny singles is a common name for half-court pickleball singles. In the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, the official name is mini-singles (Rule 14.B): each rally is played on only the right or left half of a standard court, based on each player’s score.

Two-bounce rule (also: Double-bounce rule)

The two-bounce rule says that after the serve, the receiving team must let the ball bounce before returning it, and the serving team must then let the return bounce before hitting it. After those two bounces, either team may volley.