Your opponent’s return floats up short. The ball is barely past the net, drifting slowly, and you see it. You lunge, extend your paddle across the net, and punch it down for what feels like a winner. Your partner starts celebrating. Then the other side says it. “You reached over. That’s our point.” You say … Read more
The ATP shot is completely legal in pickleball. It is one of the few shots in the game where the ball never has to travel over the net, and that is exactly what makes it work. ATP stands for Around The Post. When a ball is hit wide and pulls you off the court past … Read more
Most players think getting hit by the ball is just part of the game. It is not. If the ball hits you during a rally, you lose the point. That catches people off guard. The instinct, especially for players coming from tennis or racquetball, is that getting pegged by the ball is bad luck, not … Read more
Dropping your paddle during a rally is not automatically a fault. Play continues. You are allowed to drop or lose your paddle during a point, and the ball remains live. There is one important exception. That exception is interference. If your dropped paddle touches the ball, enters the non-volley zone in a way that affects … Read more
The rally is close. Your opponent rips a cross-court shot that catches the net post and trickles onto your side of the court. They throw their hands up. It went over, they say. You say it’s a fault because it hit the post. Someone has to be right. You are. A ball that hits the … Read more
Yes, you can switch your paddle from one hand to the other during a rally in pickleball. The official rules place no restriction on it. You can transfer mid-swing, mid-point, or at any moment you choose. The shot still counts. That surprises a lot of players. It feels like it should be illegal, the same … Read more
Most players see the Erne for the first time and assume it is illegal. It is not. The Erne is one of the most spectacular shots in pickleball, and when executed correctly, it is completely within the rules. The confusion is understandable. Watching someone leap around the net post and smash a ball from outside … Read more
Your opponent dinks the ball short, barely clearing the net. You charge forward, plant your foot in the kitchen, and send it back cross-court for a winner. Your partner cheers. The other side says it’s a fault. You say you hit a groundstroke, not a volley. Now nobody is moving until someone settles this. Here … Read more
Getting a line call wrong does not just cause an argument. It hands your opponent a point, or takes one away from you, in a game where a single rally can flip everything. Pickleball line call rules are clear once you know them. Knowing them cold means you will win the argument the next time … Read more
Miss the two-bounce rule and you will make the same mistake every new player makes: rushing the net after the serve, volleying the return out of the air, and losing rallies before you even realize what happened. It is one of the most penalized rules in recreational pickleball, and it catches people off guard because … Read more