Mini-singles is a format of pickleball wherein only one half of each side of the court is considered to be in play during each point. This format of pickleball is played on a standard pickleball court with only one customized modification of its boundaries.
The court for a mini-singles pickleball is made by stretching the centre service line to the non-volley zone on either side of the court. This extended line whether painted or taped, must not be of the same color as that of the other boundaries of the court.
A match in mini-singles pickleball starts from a score of 0-0. Both the server, and the receiver stand on the right side of their respective halves of the court. This means for that particular point, only those halves will be considered within bounds. The baseline, sideline, and the extended centre service line act as the boundaries of the legal halves.
If the score of a player is an odd number, then that player’s left half is considered legal. If the score of one player is even, and that of the other player is odd, then they have to stand in their respective areas. This means that a score of 3-4 can have both players standing across each other, whereas a score of 5-3 will have both players face each other diagonally.
If the serving player is standing on the left side of the court when their score is an even number, then the serve they make is technically illegal and the player loses the point. However, such a point can be won by the receiver only if they call the serve out.
There are instances when the receiver is standing on the incorrect half of the court. In such a case, the server can land a serve in the right area to win the point. However, if the receiver returns the ball, and the players play out the entire point, then the point is considered valid as no calls were made by the player. Additionally, the on-court umpires cannot intervene unless an appeal is made by one of the players.
The receiver has a slight advantage over the server in mini-singles pickleball. The reason is that there is no fault called based on where the receiver is standing. The receiver can stand wherever they wish to in order to return the serve. The onus is on the server who have to be sharp enough after every point to know which side of the court is it legal for them to serve at.
Mini-singles pickleball are largely recreational in nature and there are only a handful of tournament plays at regional levels.
