Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

These are the weirdest and least understood pickleball rules and regulations

Learn how to play pickleball - with all of the weird and nitty gritty rules included

Pickleball is one of America’s fastest-growing sports. The ease of access, simple gameplay, nonstop action, and social connection makes pickleball an attractive sport. Like any love affair, though, there are finer points and certain pickleball rules that need to be defined a little more explaining. And as with becoming a professional at any sport, it’s critical to understand the finer elements of gameplay.

Pickleball rules might be easy to understand, but it’s in the specific details that things get muddy. We’re here to review some of the most unusual and lesser-known pickleball rules and regulations to make sure all of your matches remain friendly.

Pickleball players compete in a tournament.
Pickleball Channel/YouTube

No listening to your favorite music

Let’s get an easy one out of the way first. USA Pickleball deems that, except for prescribed or necessary devices like hearing aids, “players shall not wear or use any form of headphones or earbuds during competition play.”

This could be left up to those playing to decide for themselves during their game. But in general and during serious play, personal audio equipment is a no-no, even if Rage Against the Machine brings your game to another level.

Lost equipment could cost you

  • Keep all hats, sunglasses, goggles, sweatbands, and other gear inside the ride at all times.

Generally, the preferred arena for pickleball is on an outside court. During an intense rally, these accessories fly off, causing at least an interruption in concentration. Could this equipment loss also result in a point loss?

According to The Pickler blog, a fault occurs if an item lands in the non-volley zone in connection with a volley — a volley defined as hitting the pickleball before it bounces. In other words, if a player strikes the pickleball in the air and a towel flies off into the non-volley zone, it’s a point for the other side. If the discarded item lands in the non-volley zone off the bounce, then no fault.

If equipment lands anywhere outside of the non-volley zone, on the court or not, the play keeps going. This applies even if the pickleball hits the lost item. Obviously, it’s going to be tough to gauge the bounce off of a dropped hat or shirt, so make sure to keep things tight so you don’t lose a point. And, to be on the safe side, continue playing no matter what until a fault is called.

A view of pickleball courts.
net

There are rules for equipment adjustments

  • Be quick with your small adjustments
  • Bigger issues require a timeout

Pickleball might be a loose game, but players are expected to control their apparel and keep their equipment in playable condition. Quick adjustments to apparel or equipment — tying shoes, cleaning shades, adjusting hats — are allowed between rallies.

Time-outs and the two minutes between games are for more complicated adjustments and replacing gear. Per USA Pickleball’s Official Rulebook, if a player or team is out of time-outs, the referee holds the key to determining the need for an equipment change or necessary adjustment, allotting a potential two-minute timeout.

The 10-second rule and timeouts

How the 10-second rule works

More recently, pickleball instituted a 10-second rule to discourage those players who take forever to serve. The USA Rulebook applies to servers and receivers, “each of whom is allowed up to 10 seconds after the score is called to serve or be ready to receive.” It’s the server’s responsibility to make sure the other side is ready, but that 10 seconds is technically ticking as soon as the referee calls out the score.

If 10 seconds elapse without a serve, the ref issues a technical warning. If this delay continues, referees could award the opposing team a point. This also applies to the receiving side, which has to be ready to receive the serve once the score has been called.

Why the 10-second rule exists

Allowing more than 10 seconds between points drags the game out and lessens the competition if players are allowed to recuperate after every tough rally. There’s no crying in baseball, and there’s no mercy in pickleball.

Competitors who need a break should call a timeout before the serve. The rules allow players and teams two one-minute timeouts per each 11-point game. For 21-point games, three timeouts are allowed.

A player getting ready to play pickleball.
Joan Azeka/Unsplash

Motion rules while serving

As for serving, it’s pretty simple. There’s more leeway in recreational pickleball, but there are rules about the serving motion that pickleballers should be aware of, especially in more serious competition. More veteran players should turn to the International Federation of Pickleball Official Tournament Rulebook.

Per the IFP’s official tourney rules, “the serve must be made with an underhand stroke so that contact with the ball is made below waist level (waist is defined as the navel level).”

Why is this important? Well, overhead shots produce more power. Skirting the gray area of this rule could give players a slight edge. If the paddle head strikes the ball above the belly button, this results in a fault. This is so important that the IFP defines what “underhand” means.

“The arm must be moving in an upward arc and the paddle head shall be below the wrist when it strikes the ball (paddle head is that part of the paddle excluding the handle. The highest point of the paddle head cannot be above any part of the line formed where the wrist joint bends).”

This cuts out slicing, smashing, and the topspin, unless players achieve that via underhand serve. For a more in-depth exploration of the underhand serve, check out the Pickleball Channel’s extended guide:

Pickleball 411: The Underhand Serve

The line and the net are serving no-nos

Pickleball regulars know that when serving the ball must clear the kitchen line. The kitchen is the seven-foot-long no-go zone for volleys. The line is two inches thick, and a player’s serve cannot touch any part of this line, needing instead to completely clear it for a valid serve. If the ball hits the kitchen or the kitchen line, it’s a fault.

It’s also a fault if the pickleball grazes the net before landing in play space. The rule used to be that clipping the net and then landing in the serving box was a let (like tennis), but that has evolved with the game. Once a successful serve has landed, the ball is in play and can land on any court line to stay in play. The only time the lines are considered out is at the back of the kitchen on a serve.

Line-calling guidelines

Speaking of line calls, let’s lay out a few guidelines for line calling. Mostly, pickleball is played for fun, so it’s helpful to take a “do unto others” attitude.

Applying those IFP tourney rules, players on line-calling duty must give opponents the benefit of the doubt to keep up fair play. To define who should make line calls, players should only make calls on their section of the court. Players should not question an opponent’s call unless the other player asks or if there’s an appeal to the referee.

Judgment calls should be up to those with a perspective straight down the line. Calls need to be quick and made while the ball is still in play. Pickleball is a fast and furious game where calls are tough. In general, give your opponent the benefit of the doubt. Ethics are important.

Spectators may never participate in line calls. High-level pickleball competitions have already had past issues with this. If you’re watching a match, you are a spectator and not allowed to have your say. Just zip it and enjoy the match.

Pickleball players at The Villages in Florida.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

No heckling allowed

Sports like baseball and especially hockey come with a lot of trash talk between the teams – and even the fans and the players. In pickleball, that’s all a huge no. Think along the lines of tennis and golf, where there is complete silence for the swing and serve.

This means

  • No loud talking on the court
  • No stomping your feet
  • No yelling
  • No making any other loud or distracting noises

Now, talking between players, as in calling out what kind of shot they think is going to happen or who is getting the hit, is completely fine. You are playing a sport, and you will have to chat with each other.

Now that you know every single in and out of how to play pickleball, even the grittier pickleball rules, enjoy getting a bit of hands-on experience. There’s no limit to how much enjoyment you’ll get playing one of the most popular sports right now.

Pickleball, like all other sports, will continue to evolve with time, play, and technology. What will remain is the game’s core philosophy: pickleball is meant to be fun. While official pickleball rules are there to provide a level playing field and an accurate sport, the Golden Rule is always a good default, so everyone enjoys playing.

Editors' Recommendations

Dannielle Beardsley
Dannielle has written for various websites, online magazines, and blogs. She loves everything celebrity and her favorite…
Apple has a classical music app you’ve probably never heard of, and just purchased a record label to support it
Apple says it now has the most classical music of any streaming service
Portland, OR, USA - May 7, 2023: Apple Music Classical and Apple Music app icons are seen on an iPhone. Apple Music Classical is a brand-new standalone streaming app for classical music lovers

 

Amazon Music, Spotify, or Apple Music — whether you're grinding through your work commute or unwinding in your safe space at home, music is a part of that, and your favored streaming app is how you listen to it. Some of us like to rock out to get mentally psyched for the workday, and some want to soothe their souls on the way home. While classical music may not be everyone's first choice when planning a playlist, it's grown in popularity over the last few years. Through social media like Instagram and TikTok, classical music is getting recognized more and more, and Apple wants it to get even bigger with an app you may not know it already released.

Read more
Incredible video shows how hard it is for MLB players to actually hit a baseball
There's a lot of physics involved
baseball on pitchers mound

Playing any sport at a high level comes with the kinds of challenges that very few people are capable of meeting. That's why athletes get paid so well — they're capable of doing things that the average person simply can't. Among all the incredible feats that athletes accomplish, though, one of the most astonishing happens every time a batter steps up to the mound to try and hit a ball in the MLB.

Even the best hitters in baseball only successfully record a hit on two of every five of their mound appearances, and that's because hitting a ball well requires incredible precision. The video below, which was created by Business Insider, shows just how little room for error a batter has when they're about to take a swing at a pitch.

Read more
Costco has an exclusive Purple mattress you can’t get anywhere else, the PurpleRenew
A better night's sleep, exclusive to Costco
PurpleRenew mattress

Everyone loves a trip to Costco, with its thrilling variety of goods ranging from fresh flowers and enormous croissants to exclusive state-of-the-art mattresses. Purple, creator of the iconic purple gel-grid mattress, has teamed up with Costco to bring you a fantastic night's rest by way of the PurpleRenew. This special deal combines the legendary convenience, accessibility, and customer care of Costco with the superior comfort of a Purple.

Living on the grid
A Purple mattress is arguably the most distinctive kind of mattress you can find. Even in a marketplace saturated with appealing options for those looking to give their bed a complete makeover, it's hard to forget the soft and springy undulations of the Purple's specialized GelFlex grid. This gel-grid may seem at first to be less than cloud-like, but it's specially designed to bounce back to all kinds of pressure. It can even comfortably swallow up a raw egg pressed into it with no danger of cracking, according to Purple commercial legend.

Read more