RULES
GURU
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Rule Changes for 2022
Here is more information about the 2022 rule changes . I ’ d like to thank certified refs Bob Swisshelm and Mark Peifer for helping me anticipate what players will be wondering about as the year begins . Rule changes always raise new questions , so feel free to send me your stories about on-court situations and your questions about the 2022 rules .
CALLING THE WRONG SCORE
Q : What should I do as a player if my opponent or the referee calls an incorrect score ?
A : Starting this year , you have up until the serve occurs to question or challenge the score , or you must wait until the rally is over . If you stop play after the serve to question the score , you will have committed a fault and will lose the rally . If you can ’ t question the score before the server strikes the ball , then you should play on and correct the error after the rally completes . This is covered by rule 4 . K .
PLAYER READINESS
Q : Why will a referee sometimes call the score when players are not ready ?
A : This is covered by rule 10 . A . 5 . Prior to 2022 , there were a few times when the referee was required by rule to call the score immediately regardless of player readiness , such as at the start of a game , after a timeout , or after an end change . This sometimes caused a server to serve to an empty court if the opponents were not ready , since the server only had 10 seconds to serve the ball after the score was called . As of 2022 , rule 10 . A . 5 now allows the referee to wait a reasonable period of time to allow the players to be ready . Even with this new rule , it is possible that the ref will call the score at a time when the player should be ready but is not . Players should be listening for the 15-second warning . •
By Bob Unetich
USA PICKLEBALL-CERTIFIED REFEREE
What is All the Buzz with the Spin Serve ?
By Mark Peifer
USA PICKLEBALL DIRECTOR OF OFFICIATING
Last year may very well be known in pickleball lore as the year of the “ chainsaw serve .” For 2022 , that serve is history , but why not ban all pre-serve spin on the ball ? Here is a brief rationale behind why the one-hand spin serve , colloquially known as the Morgan Evans serve , has survived into the 2022 Rulebook :
1 . Unlike the chainsaw serve , spinning the ball pre-serve has been available to every player since 1965 . That had great bearing on the decision .
2 . Trying to eliminate all spin pre-serve is unenforceable because every transfer of the ball from one hand to the paddle will cause some rotational velocity of the ball . To minimize preserve spin , we would have to adopt rules like those in table tennis . That was deemed a bridge too far at this time , given reason # 1 above and the fact that if we adopted table tennis rules , almost every player in the world would have to modify their serve routine . There is a reluctance to do that , which , by the way , is the reason the drop serve isn ’ t the only serve allowed in the sport . That , too , would be a transformational change in play .
3 . The one-hand spin serve is considered a little more difficult to adopt and perfect , so we don ’ t know how deep this serve will penetrate the sport or how quickly or how effective it will be across the player spectrum .
4 . We want to allow for some degree of innovation , but at the same time make sure that one type of shot or style of play doesn ’ t dominate the sport , especially for the social and recreational players . Accordingly , the Rules Committee is adopting a wait-and-see approach . •