UNDERHAND SERVE
but as different as some of them may be, if all three of these
elements are met, they can still be legal.
#2 - BALL CONTACT BELOW THE WAIST
Contact with the ball must be made below the waist. This is
the one that gets a little tricky. There has been some confusion
about what exactly constitutes the waist. It doesn’t matter
how you wear your clothes. The waist is defined as navel level.
And the point where the ball hits the paddle must be below the
waist.
X
✓
#3 - PADDLE HEAD POSITION BELOW THE WRIST
The position of the paddle head must be lower than the wrist.
This one can be the deal breaker. When the paddle head strikes
the ball, the highest part of the paddle head must be below
where the wrist joint bends. To clarify, the paddle head does not
include the handle.
In summary, all three of these elements must be satisfied in
order for the serve to be legal: upward motion of the paddle
head, contact with the ball below the waist, with the position of
the paddle head below the wrist joint. There are many different
types of serves including forehand, backhand, hard and soft,
SUMMARY - ALL THREE MUST BE MET
That’s your Pickleball 411 for today. We really hope this has
been helpful. Now there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s
Go Play! •
To watch the complete video version of this article and
to see clear motion graphics of each element of the
underhand serve, visit Pickleball Channel online.
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Rusty Howes is the Executive Producer and
creator of Pickleball Channel. Rusty worked for the
likes of Warner Bros and Disney before creating
Pickleball Channel to develop and provide fantastic,
professional video content for the pickleball
community. He is deeply involved in promoting the
sport of pickleball at home and across the country.
DECEMBER 2016 |
MAGAZINE
25