USA Pickleball Rule Changes

19.J.   Fully Officiated Match Option.

19.J.1.   Two (or more) Referees.  At the option of the Tournament Director, when 2 (or more) referees are assigned to a match, referees will call all lines, including the center service line.

19.J.2.  Player Overrule.  Players may overrule a call to their own disadvantage, except when there is a video review ruling.

19.J.3.  No Definitive Call.  If the referee team cannot call a ball out, the ball shall be considered in.  If conflict exists within the referee team or if the referee team cannot make a line call, the rally shall be replayed.

19.J.4.  Player Appeal and Video Review.  Players may a appeal a call to the referee or, when available, request video review.

N/A

A line call should always be the result of where the ball landed. Currently, players routinely return serves that land past the baseline or hit balls back that land outside of the sideline.  A player is often times in motion or ends in a position where the ball is landing just behind the line (between them and the line).  Furthermore, while not being in an optimum position, the player is forced to make a quick decision regarding making the out call, risking being wrong, or playing a ball that was out, but which they could not clearly see.  In some matches, it is clear that one player returns balls that are clearly out, while the opponent has a different standard and calls lines a lot tighter.  Then, once a ball is returned and played, there is no recourse, as the match continues.  A referee, on the other hand, is not in motion and can focus on where the ball lands, with the added advantage that they have a few seconds to process what they just saw.  With one referee on court, out calls by the sideline near the referee cannot always be judged properly, but with two referees on court, this issue is resolved.  In every match, there should only be one standard for line calls and this standard should be the impartial standard that a referee brings to the match, as opposed to two different views from opponents who are forced to contend with circumstances that directly affect their line call decisions.

In higher level matches, where video review is available, any player should always be allowed to request video review.  Furthermore, a player should never be penalized for trying to ensure that a call is correct.  Just as is the case for appeals, there should be no specific limit for video review requests.  Just as the case in any situation on the court, if in the judgement of a referee, a player is abusing video review requests, the referee has what they need to deal with unsportsmanlike behavior.

Specific line calls need to made with one standard, utilizing the best practice and means available to get the call right, as these do directly impact the outcome of the match. Applying this proposed option of shifting line call duties from players to referees will also bring pickleball in line with how competitive sports are officiated.  (The fact that this is not the case and players make their own line calls is affecting the general perception and prestige of pickleball as a serious and competitive sport.)

Finally, the performance of a referee compared to other referees is no different than that of a player compared to other players.  Some players compete at a pro level; others compete at a 3.0 level.  The vast majority of players are not pros.  Likewise, the vast majority of referees will not be part of those who can track balls and make line calls, as is needed to implement this option.  That is also the case with officiating in other sports and there is nothing wrong with that.

This is an option for the Tournament Director.  If it is deemed that the tournament has the referee caliber to implement this fully officiated option, then it may be used at any time.  Obviously, assigning two referees (or more) to a match is typically done for medal matches and high level play, but there is no restriction on when the TD may elect to implement this for a match.