Q
A
&
with the
Q: Dear Guru,
Is it OK to tap the ball against the
paddle before you serve? My partner
waits for the ref to call the score and
then, while holding the ball in her
left hand, she taps it once against
the paddle face. She then takes the
paddle backward and then forward
to make contact with the ball. In a
tournament, our opponents wanted
the ref to call a fault for contacting
the ball twice during a stroke. What
do you think about her serve?
A: The question in this case
involves the definition of the “service
motion,” and the Rule Book is pretty
RULES GURU
We’d Like to Hear From You!
Send your questions to
[email protected].
By Bob Unetich
USAPA-Certified Referee
clear about this. Paragraph 3.A.33
tells us the service motion begins
“when the player’s arm moves
to initiate the swing backward or
forward to contact the ball.” This
definition is explained again in Rule
4.A.2. “The service motion begins
with the server’s arm movement
initiating the swing, backward or
forward, to contact the ball.” It’s clear
from these two rules that you can
pretty much do what you like before
you begin the service motion, so
there is no reason to call a fault for
bouncing the ball off the ground or
off the paddle face.
Q: Dear Guru,
I have a question about the
differences I see in different
brands of pickleballs. Some
seem very hard to compress to
me and others can be pushed
in fairly easily and yet most
are USAPA Approved. There
is a hardness specification I
read in the rules that seems
to have a pretty narrow range
(40 to 50 on the Durometer
D scale, whatever that is).
Are we playing with balls
that don’t meet the proper
manufacturer’s specs?
A: It’s true that balls can
Q: Dear Guru,
In a tournament match with
no referee, what happens if the
server does NOT call the score
or the complete 3 number score
before serving the ball?
A: If a server serves without
calling the complete-score, it’s a
fault (Rule 4.M.10) and the ball
is dead, so a receiver can catch
it. There is no reason to ask for a
replay. A server might dispute this
by saying the score was called
but not very loudly. This is a case
where it would be helpful if all
four players agreed on what was
called, but if a server is convinced
that the score was called, the
benefit of doubt should go
to the server and
a replay
22
would be a reasonable
solution.
The rules do not, however,
require that the receiver hear
the calling of the score. If a
receiver did not hear the score
called because it was not loud
enough, the ball is in play and
the receiver should return the
served ball and play out
the rally. After the rally,
the receiver of the last
serve, or the partner
of the receiver,
should request
that the score be
called louder in
the future.
TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM
vary quite a lot in terms
of compressibility, and this
does contribute to differences in
play and the sound produced.
The reality is the Rules, in
particular Rule 2.D.5 Hardness,
only specify a close-in surface
hardness. This is measured with
a pointed tool that pushes into
the surface an allowed amount.
This “give” of the surface has
little to do with the overall
softness and compressibility of
the ball. The result is that two
balls can have just about an
identical bounce when dropped
from a certain height, but
they may feel and play rather
differently. Not only will the balls
play and sound different, they
may also have much different
durability, since a hard plastic
tends to crack more easily than
a softer plastic, especially in
cooler weather.