They changed it in volleyball. It is just a matter of getting used to it. I have never seen it in Pickleball, but it is certainly worth trying. I would be a lot more focused on my serve, making sure it was in play. Thanks for the tips
Our club in Palm Beach Gardens Florida used rally scoring for about a month + last year during weekly round robin matches. It took a couple of weeks to get most players comfortable with this alternative. I would guess that about half of the group embraced it while others still felt uncomfortable and maybe still a bit confused. It did dramatically change my strategy since I love to hit serves with pace, depth, spin and placement. Although I didn't completely abandon that approach I frequently opted for safer serves when confidence and timing were shaky. Rally scoring did make my brain work harder. So for someone who plays in the 70+ age bracket, that alone was a very good thing. I hope we go back to it this season when our snow birds come back to roost.
@@msam0811 you bring up a good point. It really makes you think and it takes a while to make the transition. I'm curious did your club do it during your high season to speed up play? If so did it work?
I first experienced rally scoring when I started playing in Colorado where the indoor gym courts got pretty crowded. The change would be made to rally scoring from traditional scoring when the number of players got beyond a set limit. This video is the first I’ve seen of the “official” method of play under rally scoring and our group in CO has a slightly different version of that. We maintain the two serves per side component of traditional scoring and use the point count described. We play to 15. Because we keep the 2 serves I don’t think my strategy is changed from traditional scoring. The toughest part is remembering the scoring. Good for my 70yo brain.
Our club up here in Canada has been playing rally point scoring for over a year now with great success. We use single server system based on odd or even score for which court to serve from. We play to 15 win by 2 or first team to 21, which typically a game will last 10-15 minutes. With side out scoring a game can exchange serving sides with no score change and extend games to 25 minutes. We are on 6 courts with around 40 players so quick turnover is helpful for waiting players. All 4 players come off the court and then the next ready 4 go on the empty court. Rules aren't any different from traditional scoring...we follow USAPA rules. Very easy procedure to pick up, especially the scoring by eliminating tracking first and second server. In rally point, even if your team isn't serving, if you make a spectacular shot your team gets rewarded with the point. You stay more focused because if you make a mistake, it benefits the opposition. Strategy pretty well the same as before. There's very little time between points so the activity level is increased...good cardio. I played side out scoring for over a year when I started and find it painfully slow and confusing when I have to play that way at clubs that haven't changed to rally point. Pickleball scoring in it's beginning used side out scoring from badminton, and over 200 million badminton players adopted rally point scoring basically overnight to improve their game...same with volleyball. Time to move forward for the enjoyment of this game.
@@BetterPickleball We play single server so it's quite simply based on your score of which court serves. If your team score is even (0,2,4,6), the player in the right court serves and if your score is odd (1,3,5,7) the player in the left court serves. As the score changes every rally, the serve will change accordingly and if your team wins the point, the players on the winning side switch courts as the team wins points, the same as traditional scoring. Actual play is less confusing than written instruction.
@@bigrockpickleballgroup1429 Regardless of whether or not you start serving from the right court always or the right court only if your score is even, the average number of times each player gets to serve remains the same. That is assuming players are of equal skill in serving. Obviously a strong server will serve more often than a weaker server. Since every time you serve and win, the same person serves again.
Hi CJ, I had a chance to meet you at Rusch Park tournament last month. At that tournament, a couple of men’s singles events used rally scoring. It affected my play, and I’m sure, others as well. I didn’t like that it was used in a tournament without us knowing well in advance that it was going to be used, and since it’s not a scoring system that is universally practiced yet, even in rec play. A tournament shouldn’t be the first time anyone should have a new scoring system thrown at the participants. But after experiencing it, I’m not opposed to having the scoring switch to rally scoring as long as it becomes the universally accepted way to score for both doubles & singles. The 2-bounce rule gives the receiving team the initial positional offensive advantage. I would like to see what it would be like if serve and volley would be allowed with rally scoring, just to offset some positional advantage of the receiving team.
Hi Brian, it was great to meet you! I didn’t realize that you didn’t know it was rally scoring until you got there. Ouch! Interesting point about the serve and volley. The other one I thought of was two serves, similar to tennis. What strategy(s) did you change for the tournament?
CJ Johnson - when serving, I eventually played a more conservative game, particularly with the 3rd shot. In singles (w/reg scoring) I normally drive the 3rd shot, and I like angles. But with rally scoring, I ended up driving less and dropping more with less angle...basically took less risks.
In the clinic I teach we gave it a trial run and the participants seemed to like it. I learned from your video I had part of the system wrong. So thanks for that.
@@BetterPickleball I wonder what you think of my proposal to shorten the court dimensions for older persons. I've tried it out in my clinic in a retirement village using painters tape. I estimate my level to be about 5.0 and can make overheads and sometimes run down a good lob ... but many in my clinic cannot - don't have the physical ability. In rec games these players can be taken advantage of. A shorter court would also slow the game down, hard shots will be more likely to go out. Even at the pro level court dimensions should be revisited. For men's singles in particular the rally rarely exceeds 4 shots because unlike tennis the width of the court is the same for doubles.
Tried rally scoring with our group and we like it a lot. Games are faster, yes and it is much easier to remember the score without server one and two when calling the score. When you get two evenly matched pairs on the court the games under the traditional scoring method can sometimes take quite awhile to play so those waiting a turn may have to wait far too long.
i great video. question, i heard when a team reaches 20 points, they can no longer get a point "Unless" they are serving the ball. and, once the other team is at 18 points or above, the same thing happens for them. they can't get a point unless they are serving. is that correct?
There are a variety of different ways to score the end of the game but what is most commonly use right now is the freeze at a certain number and the win must happen on the serve, which means that the winning team has to score two points in a row.
We’re beginners so started with rally scoring because the scoring seemed easier. We love it. The game goes quickly and we still have some rallies since we’re not good enough to make kill shots.🤣
Welcome to pickleball. That can be a great way to start. Once you're feeling comfortable I'd recomment trying regular scoring. The nature of it requires a different strategy.
Thank for your video on rally scoring. Rally scoring allow either team to score so that a point is scored on every volley. As for serving the tennis tiebrake system should be used where the serve alternates from side to side every 2nd serve. It is possible for a player with a superior serve with English on it to win a game 11-0 with no one else getting to serve.
Rally scoring is easier to keep track..just like scoring now in badminton. This scoring will be good in recreational for faster game to finish for a quick turnover to the next four players to play. This type of scoring will show desparity differences between the good and slightly good players in putting away shots in order to score to earn points. Players will be more creative in shots, more aggressive, careful, and will be pressure to play more consistent shots. When it is deciding close game...it will be more intense and can measure your gutsy game on what you are made of as a player. The changes it will make I think is that there will be fewer longer rallies, will lessen dinkings? Old folks might get bored with lesser rallies? It is good to try.
Tried this and like it, but this is different than the rally scoring that I witnessed on ESPN with McEnroe, Chang etc. Those players stayed odd/even the entire game. So which version are we adopting? (I like your video's version of rally scoring better). Also, what about a service fault? Other side gets a point and the ball back? Thanks!
I saw the same thing, so I googled rally scoring in pickleball and have found 2 versions. One where they change sides and one where they don't. If you are going to support rally scoring I would hope they come to one system to eliminate the confusion for the beginning players.
In Canada, Pickleball coaches are being taught to maintain the server 1 and server 2 while using rally scoring. Side out occurs when both players from the server side has served and lost the rally. Personally I find rally scoring makes me more cautious in pushing my limits and will slow my skill development. I do recognize the games go faster, but think win-by-1 and score to 9 achieves the same thing. Best option is more courts!😀
Hi Philip! I have to agree, rally scoring definitely takes some getting used to. It has its usefulness at times but should change the way the game is played, how many risks are taken, etc. I love your solution, more courts is the answer!
Thanks for the video. I have promote rally scoring for the past 10 years. I help to organize 7 different rec centers in my area. Several of these Rec Center's use Rally scoring. When you have a large group and a limited number of courts. There is a significant advantage to the use of rally scoring. I would like to see rally scoring as a alternate scoring for the feed in round robin matches for tournaments. This would be to the advantage of both the players and the tournaments. As we know, the round robin is only used to establish seeding. With rally scoring all the players are completing the round robin with about the same amount of time on the courts and are starting the rest of the tournament from the same starting point. VS one team having been off the courts for a short period of time and their opponents having been resting for a long period of time in the shade, drinking sports drink. Not starting at the same starting point. The other point. We do not change any of the rules of pickleball other than the scoring. The scoring is just like regular scoring, except every rally result in a point for the team that won the rally. We do not use the odd even method. We will have to try that to see if it is any easier to keep score that way. I do not see any advantage to changing to this method. For single's players they are used to this type of scoring but to doubles only, it is confusing.
Are there other rules for Rally Scoring? The instruction sheet I found says the server does not continue to serve as his team wins consecutive points. It states that when his team serves, the server is selected by the odd/even principle by their total number of points. Thanks.
There are few different formats for Rally Scoring and yes they may continue to serve or it may switch based on the score. Switching based on the score is MLP style. If you are interested in learning more about Rally Scoring we have a few posts as well as a strategy guide at betterpickleball.com/rally-scoring-strategy-clear-the-confusion
@@BetterPickleball I found this - www.badmintonbible.com/rules/scoring. At the bottom it explains how to figure it out in badminton. You now need to remember who served last. That will make stacking a lot more complicated...
Simple. Stay where you are until you serve and make a point (win the rally), Then you switch left right. When your opponents serve, and your side wins the rally, the player on the right serves. You only switch when you serve AND win that rally.
I have only used rally scoring in a recreational game. However, I am not sure I would like it in a competitive match. It will change strategies. Could be good. I can adjust.
I think it is unlikely that a last server will not remember that they were the server. And if you lose the rally it doesn't matter because the serve goes to the other side and their score determines who serves (from which court).
There is an mlp version of rally scoring where players never change sides, so stacking isn’t needed. If you use the method in the video you need to make sure you’re the correct receiver. That’s harder to determine in rally scoring
The only thing I don't like is that it changes the strategy of the game and all but eliminates the big comeback. But it can be very beneficial for crowded courts.
You mention that “each side only gets one serve”. That doesn’t seem consistent with later in the video - namely the server keeps serving if the server side wins the point.
At 3:33 the video does not make sense(needs editing). The server wins a point and a different server is serving. This is just as complicated as a what is going on now. There is always a learning curve...
I agree. The video has a couple of differences in any Rally Scoring I have ever seen or participated in. MLP and Tuesday Night Pickleball in America use rally scoring. In the Legends game yesterday they used rally scoring. In no event that I've seen does a player serve from both sides as you described regarding the first server. The exception I have seen is when switching sides at the midpoint or at the start of a new game players are allowed to switch positions. I like rally scoring and won't complain if it is adopted as the new standard.
Sorry, the video does not need editing, what she said is exactly correct. If your side serves AND makes a point by winning the rally, you and your partner switch sides (left - right). Think of it as a reward for serving and winning the rally. If the opponents serve and you win the rally, you win the serve AND earn a point, but you do NOT switch sides.
There are multiple ways to rally score and this is just one of the popular ones before the MLP style of scoring came out. My advice is don't worry about it. Keep doing what you are doing. We'll be putting out a Rally Scoring guide after the first of the year so make sure you are on our email list if you want to get it. BetterPickleball.com
I'm thinking I'll like it especially if we go to 15/18/21. It will also get away from these players who love to use their "special" serve that gets them a cheap point (mostly against players who aren't good enough yet to handle it). I'll enjoy their big overhead smashes into the net costing them a point too ;-)
This is very confusing. At 2:35 you say the start is the only time players alternate sides when serving. But then at 3:39 you say players always switch sides if they're serving and win a point.
There are multiple ways to use rally scoring and this is one from several years ago. You may also want to try MLP style where there is no changing sides. You can get a free rally scoring guide here to help you with all the details. betterpickleball.com/rally-scoring-strategy-guide/
You would probably want to increase to 15 points, still win by 2 points. Interesting that there is no cap on that. In badminton, it is also win by two but if you tie at 28, the next point wins. This avoids games going on literally forever. The big advantage of rally scoring is that the time length of a game is much more consistent and predictable. It also means that every time you win a rally you not only feel good, but are also rewarded with a point. That is a lot more satisfying in the moment than just earning the right to serve.
They are two different games. They are both good, just a little different strategy. It's like anything else that has modified rules. If you like the sport if it really wouldn't matter but then again if you are looking for longer games or shorter games, it does.
When your paddle is next in line but the courts are just rolling along with no one scoring with traditional scoring, rally scoring looks pretty appetizing.
At this time, since rally scoring isn't officially recognized there are a variety of different methods. In 2024 USA Pickleball plans to add some options for rally scoring to the rule book
I understand why you may feel frustrated with rally scoring because it does change the strategy of play, especially as the receiving team. But it also provides some positive elements too, including faster game play for rec games to keep things moving
CJ Johnson it eliminates the second server, players all go for the winner, no one attempts the drop shot and there is very little dinking. Games turn into slam fests. Strategy gets eliminated. We just play regulation to 9 if the courts are overcrowded.
Denise I love your observations. I’m curious why do you think people stop using a dink and go for more winners when the consequences for a mishit sinner is a point for the other team? You would think they would play more conservatively to avoid the mistakes
I’ve tried rally scoring (see reply in first post) with each side still using two serves. I don’t find it changes game at all in terms of slams vs. dink’s. Just goes quicker. Actually it may make players more conservative because whoever makes a mistake gives the opposition a point.
CJ Johnson I’m not sure but that’s what I observed. I played with a group that tried it for a few months. Half the players hated it. I think those who play tournaments find confusing. I’ve even heard of them calling the score wrong in a tournament because of previous rally play. 😱
