Pickleball rules

If You Don’t Know the 2023 Pickleball Serve Rule, You’ll Hate Yourself Later

By Tony Roig / October 1, 2022 /
Pickleball Serve Rules 2023

The 2023 USAPA (USA Pickleball) Official Rules are published and the pickleball spin serve is no longer allowed. Now let’s be clear it’s the pre-spun, more commonly known as the finger spin serve, that will no longer be allowed. The change to the Pickleball Serve Rules is found in Rule 4.A.5 and reads as follows:…

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Pickleball Serve Rules-Should This Serve Be Legal?

By Tony Roig / November 4, 2021 /

Making the Case The chainsaw serve has received plenty of attention of late. Ever since Pro Player Zane Navratil began using it successfully, many players have, rightly, asked whether the chainsaw serve is something they should add to their game. As you may already know, the chainsaw serve has been banned for 2022. But there’s…

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Pickleball Rules And Scoring-Out Calls, Dead Balls, Score Calling and MORE

By betterpickleball / December 26, 2020 /
Pickleball Rules and Scoring

 The 2021 rules change document was more than 85 pages long. We’re extremely fortunate to have rules guru Don Stanley walk us through the changes and understand how the rule book changes will impact us on the pickleball courts next year. Before we take a deeper dive into some of the pickleball rules and…

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Pickleball Rules 2021-The Rules Guru and the Drop Serve

By betterpickleball / December 19, 2020 /

We bet you’ve heard that effective January 2021, pickleball has a few new rules, including a drop serve. While Tony and I believe other rule changes will likely impact your game more, the drop serve is getting the most attention. Not surprising, the serve is a topic that fascinates pickleball players and consistently produces more…

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Pickleball Rules-When Can I Step In the Kitchen?

By betterpickleball / April 11, 2020 /

I smashed a volley, my opponents can’t return it, and we won the point, but I’m windmilling. Can I ever step into the Kitchen? I can? When? I recently did a Pickleball Rules AMA -Ask Me Anything with Certified Referee and Referee Trainer Don Stanley. Of course, there was a multitude of questions about the…

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Pickleball Rules-CJ, Were Those Legal Serves?

By betterpickleball / December 6, 2019 /

 A couple of weeks ago, I posted a video titled, What’s the Best Pickleball Serve? Not long afterward, a few of you asked, CJ are those serves legal? You be the judge! I surmise by the questions I receive; players don’t always get their pickleball rules information from the best source, the rule book.…

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Pickleball Rule-Ever Forget Where You Should Be Standing?

By betterpickleball / July 20, 2019 /

Ever finish a point in a pickleball game and completely forget what side of the court you should be standing on? I’ll bet it’s happened to all of us! Do you know that Pickleball Rule 4.B.6.B can help you find out where you and your opponents should be standing on the court? Pickleball Rule 4.B.6.B…

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Rule Review: On the Clock

By betterpickleball / September 12, 2018 /

The clock matters only a couple times in pickleball.  The entire score must be called before the server begins his or her service motion. When all players are in place, and the score has been called, the server is permitted 10 seconds to serve the ball. If you can’t manage that, it’s a fault against you.…

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Rule Review: That’s Handy

By betterpickleball / September 5, 2018 /

Perhaps unique to pickleball, a ball can be hit twice, bounced on your paddle, or “carried,” as long as this occurs during a continuous motion in a single direction.   The ball can also hit your paddle hand and still be returned legally. In fact, the ball doesn’t need to hit the paddle at all as long…

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Rule Review: Still The Most Misunderstood Rule In Pickleball

By betterpickleball / August 22, 2018 /

During a recent referee training, I asked Mark Peifer, to shoot a rules video. It didn’t take him long to pick a topic, rule 6.D.12.   As a certified referee who officiates at many tournaments, Mark believes 6.D.12 is the most misunderstood rule in pickleball. We briefly discussed what he wanted to say in the video,…

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