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
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
USA Pickleball’s official approved equipment list runs to hundreds of paddle models. Most recreational players have never looked at it once. They grab a paddle off a shelf, assume it is fine, and play. For casual games, it usually is fine. But the rules governing what counts as legal equipment are more specific than most … 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
The kitchen rule, officially called the non-volley zone rule, prevents players from volleying the ball while touching the kitchen or its boundary line. If momentum from a volley carries a player into the kitchen afterward, it is still a fault. Most players know they can’t stand in the kitchen and hit a volley. Far fewer … Read more
It’s 9-8 in the third game. You’re serving, your partner is camped at the kitchen line, and the rally has gone on for twelve shots. You finally get a short ball, step in, and drive it cross-court for a winner. Your opponents say it doesn’t count. You bounced into the non-volley zone after the swing, … Read more