What are the kitchen (non-volley zone) rules?

The non-volley zone, or kitchen, is the 7-foot by 20-foot area next to the net on each side (2.13 m by 6.08 m). The lines bounding it are part of the zone.

From section 11 of the 2026 rulebook:

• All volleys must be started outside the zone. You, or anything in contact with you, may touch the zone at any time except while volleying a ball.
• Fault: you (or anything touching you, including your partner) contact the zone while volleying.
• Fault: your momentum from a volley carries you into the zone, or into anything (including your partner) touching the zone, even after the ball is dead.
• Fault: after touching the zone, you volley before both feet are completely outside it.

You can stand in the zone at any time and can play a ball that has already bounced from there. The zone is two-dimensional and does not extend above the playing surface.