This one surprises people: a double hit is often perfectly legal in pickleball. If the ball contacts your paddle twice during one continuous, single-direction stroke, play continues.
What is never legal is carrying or catching the ball.
When a double hit is legal
The test is whether it was one continuous stroke moving in a single direction. If the ball hits your paddle face, catches an edge, and comes off again — all within one swing — that’s legal. Play on.
This happens most often on:
- Fast hands battles at the net, where a ball ricochets off the edge guard and then the face during a single defensive swing.
- Mishit dinks, where the ball clips the edge and rolls across the face.
- Reflex blocks, where you barely have time for one motion, let alone two.
It’s unintentional almost every time, and that’s fine — intent isn’t the test. Continuity and direction are.
When it’s a fault
Two separate swings. If you hit the ball, pause or change direction, and hit it again, that’s a fault. The stroke has to be one motion.
A carry. Holding the ball on the paddle face and slinging it — sometimes called a carry or a sling — is a fault whether you meant to or not. The ball must rebound off the paddle, not travel with it.
A catch. Same thing. Trapping the ball against the paddle, even momentarily, is a fault.
Hitting it twice deliberately. Even in one motion, a deliberate second contact to redirect the ball won’t survive scrutiny.
Two players hitting the same ball
Related and worth clearing up: in doubles, if both partners contact the ball, that’s a fault. The ball may only be struck by one player per shot.
Two paddles swinging at the same ball is a coverage problem, not a rules problem — see who takes the middle in pickleball doubles.
Note the difference from a legal double hit: one paddle contacting twice in one motion is fine; two paddles contacting once each is not.
How this gets called in practice
In refereed play, the referee makes the call. In recreational play, you call it on yourself.
Be honest but not paranoid about it. If you swung once and the ball came off oddly, that is legal and you should play on. If you felt the ball sit on your paddle and get flung, call the fault — you’ll know.
The genuinely ambiguous cases are rare, and when they happen, the benefit of the doubt goes to your opponent, same as with line calls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a double hit legal in pickleball?
Yes, provided it happens during one continuous stroke moving in a single direction. Two separate swings, or a change of direction between contacts, is a fault.
What is a carry in pickleball?
Holding or dragging the ball on the paddle face rather than letting it rebound cleanly. A carry is always a fault, intentional or not.
Is it a fault if both partners hit the ball?
Yes. In doubles only one player may contact the ball per shot. Both partners striking the same ball is a fault.
Does it matter if a double hit was intentional?
The rule turns on whether the stroke was one continuous motion in a single direction rather than on intent — but a deliberately doubled contact will generally not meet that test.
Who calls a double hit?
A referee in officiated play; the player who hit the ball in recreational play. If it’s genuinely unclear, the benefit of the doubt goes to your opponent.