Last updated: August 19, 2026
Walk past any court and you will hear it within a minute: stay out of the kitchen, that was a kitchen fault, get to the kitchen line. Nobody explains what the kitchen is, because everyone playing already knows, and the word appears nowhere on the court itself. For a new player it is the most confusing piece of pickleball vocabulary there is.
This page is the definition, not the rulebook. It explains what the kitchen is, exactly where it sits, why the sport calls it that, and what actually happens in that part of the court during a rally. For the full set of what is and is not allowed inside it, including momentum faults and the serve exception, our kitchen rules guide is the detailed companion to this one.
Quick Answer
What is the kitchen in pickleball?
- The kitchen is the everyday nickname for the non-volley zone, the 7-foot area on each side of the net that runs the full 20-foot width of the court.
- It is not a no-go area. You may stand in it, walk through it and hit balls that have already bounced there.
- The one thing you cannot do is volley, meaning hit the ball out of the air, while any part of you touches the zone or its line.
- The word appears nowhere in the official rulebook, which calls the area the non-volley zone.
The Kitchen at a Glance
Five facts cover almost every question new players ask about this part of the court.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Official name | Non-volley zone |
| Size | 7 feet deep from the net, 20 feet wide, on each side |
| Marked by | A line across the court 7 feet from the net |
| Banned action | Volleying while touching the zone or its line |
| Allowed action | Standing there, and playing any ball that has bounced |
| Special case | On a serve, the kitchen line counts as out |
What the Kitchen Actually Is
The kitchen is an area of the court, not a rule and not a shot. It is the strip closest to the net on both sides, 7 feet deep and running the full width of the court, marked by a painted line parallel to the net. Both sides have one, so together they form a 14-foot band across the middle of the court with the net splitting it down the center.
What makes it different from every other part of the court is a single restriction on one action. Everywhere else, you can hit the ball out of the air whenever you like. Inside the kitchen, you cannot. That is the entire distinction, and it is why players who assume the zone is off limits end up standing much further back than they need to.
Where the Kitchen Sits on the Court
On a regulation 20 by 44 foot court, measure 7 feet back from the net on either side and you have found it. That leaves 15 feet of court between each kitchen line and the baseline, the area where serves land and where players stand at the start of a point. Unlike the backcourt, the kitchen is not split into left and right halves, so the center line stops at the kitchen line rather than continuing to the net.
The kitchen line itself belongs to the zone. A foot on the line counts as a foot in the kitchen for the volley rule, which is why players who want to stand as close as legally possible plant themselves just behind the line rather than on it. Full measurements are in our court dimensions guide.
Why It Is Called the Kitchen
Nobody can point to an official origin, because the term does not appear in the rulebook at all. The explanation cited most often is that it was borrowed from shuffleboard, where the kitchen is a scoring area you want to avoid landing in, which fits the idea of a zone that punishes you for being in the wrong place at the wrong moment.
That story is widely repeated but not documented as fact, so treat it as folklore rather than history. What is certain is that the nickname spread far beyond the rulebook language: on a public court you will hear kitchen a hundred times before you hear non-volley zone once.
Non-Volley Zone: The Name in the Rulebook
The official term for the kitchen is the non-volley zone, often abbreviated to NVZ in written rules and coaching material. The two words describe the rule precisely: it is a zone where volleys are not allowed, and nothing more than that.
Knowing both names is genuinely useful. Instructional videos and rulebook summaries default to non-volley zone, while players, commentators and everyone at your local court say kitchen. They are the same 7 feet of court.
What Happens in the Kitchen During a Rally
Most of the interesting part of a pickleball point takes place right around this line. Players work their way forward and settle in just behind the kitchen line, then trade soft, arcing shots that land inside the opponent’s kitchen, a shot called a dink. Because a ball landing in the kitchen has to bounce before it can be hit, dinking removes the option of a hard volley and turns the exchange into a patience contest.
Stepping into the zone during those exchanges is completely normal. A dink that drops short is played after the bounce, from inside the kitchen, and then the player steps back out before the next ball arrives out of the air. Players who spend most of a point in that exchange tend to shop for a paddle with control in mind rather than raw power, which our beginner paddle guide covers when it comes time to buy your own.
Why the Zone Exists at All
The court is small and the net is low. Without a non-volley zone, the winning strategy would be obvious and dull: crowd the net, reach over and smash everything out of the air before it can bounce. Height and reach would decide most points, and rallies would rarely last more than a few shots.
The 7-foot zone removes that option and forces the first shots near the net to be soft and placed instead of powerful. That single restriction is what produces the long dink exchanges, the sudden speed-ups and the tactical patience the sport is known for. Remove the kitchen and pickleball would be a completely different game.
The Rule in One Sentence
If you remember nothing else: you may be in the kitchen at any time, but you may not hit a ball out of the air while you are touching it, including with your paddle, your clothing or a foot that lands there through momentum right after the shot. Everything else about the zone follows from that sentence.
The edge cases, momentum faults, partner assistance, dropped items and the serve exception where the kitchen line counts as out, are all covered in the kitchen rules guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the kitchen in pickleball in simple terms? It is the 7-foot area next to the net on each side where you are not allowed to hit the ball out of the air. Standing there is fine; volleying from there is not.
Is the kitchen the same as the non-volley zone? Yes. Non-volley zone is the official rulebook term and kitchen is the nickname every player uses for the same area.
How big is the kitchen? It is 7 feet deep from the net and 20 feet wide, the full width of the court, on each side of the net.
Why is it called the kitchen? There is no official explanation. The most commonly repeated theory is that the term came from shuffleboard, where the kitchen is an area you want to avoid, but that origin is not documented.
Can you ever hit the ball from inside the kitchen? Yes, as long as the ball has bounced first. Playing a bounced ball from inside the zone is a completely normal part of the game.
Does the kitchen exist on both sides of the net? Yes, one on each side, which is why the combined no-volley band across the middle of the court is 14 feet wide.
The Bottom Line
The kitchen is the nickname for the non-volley zone: 7 feet of court on each side of the net where volleying is not allowed, but standing and playing bounced balls always is. It is not in the rulebook by that name, its origin is folklore rather than record, and it exists to stop the sport from becoming a smashing contest at the net. Once the definition is clear, the next step is the detail, which lives in our pickleball kitchen rules guide.