Term
Volley Serve
A serve where you release the ball and hit it with an upward swing before it bounces.
A serve where you let go of the ball from your hand or paddle and hit it without letting it bounce (Section 2, Definitions, 7.B.1). There are three rules: swing the paddle upward in an arc, hit the ball below your waist, and don't let the head of the paddle be above your wrist. If you break even one of them, it is a fault (7.C.1, 7.C.2, 7.C.3, 7.C.5, How to serve (volley serve and drop serve)).
In the 2026 edition, the word "clear" or "clearly" was added to all three conditions (7.C.1, 7.C.2, 7.C.3). USA Pickleball explains that this makes the rule stronger and easier to enforce (USA Pickleball).
See it in a figure
This figure is from the rule "How to serve (volley serve and drop serve)".
How to read the sources: numbers like (8.F.4) are rulebook sections, and links are outside sources. An "Author's note" is the author's personal experience, not an official rule.