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Non-volley zone is grammatically incorrect. The 'No-volley' zone more accurately describes what a player may not do; no volley's are allowed without penalty. The term no-volley was introduced in the Alternate Rulebook.

I dislike this suggested rule change. It will slow down the game.

I love the drop serve. It has enhanced my enjoyment of the game.

Bob,

Saw on Facebook that you are taking feedback on the Drop Serve. Here's my view from each perspective:
Player - LOVE it. It has helped me and many others overcome the yips. It also relieves some legality anxiety because the focus is just on dropping the ball where it can be seen by the returner. The bonus is that it gives players an option to mix up their serving game and have more fun and grow confidence.
Instructor - LOVE it. I introduce pickleball to a lot of beginners and many of them have never had any racquet sport experience. The Drop Serve is easy to explain, show, and execute. The beginners and novice players that I have worked with find it simpler and more user-friendly. That builds their confidence and adds to the fun.
Referee - LOVE it. I watch the drop for no propulsion and then go to the feet to ensure no foot fault. Less to analyze and my focus is even sharper.
Giving players some options is a good thing for the game. I have not seen any unfair advantage caused by a player using the drop serve. It's fun, it's easy to learn, and it's fair. Let's keep it!

Hope all goes well in Indy this weekend and look forward to seeing you in Hoover next week. Safe travels!

Stan Brown
Birmingham, AL

Please keep the drop serve. I see a lot of new players using it successfully. Also, I have yet to see anyone use the drop serve to deliver any kind of "wicked" serve that is especially difficult to return. I would support a change which made the new drop serve the only allowed serve. Feel free to eliminate the traditional serve.

This isn't tennis. No thanks to changing this rule in pickleball. One serve is plenty.

Totally agree with the suggestion.

Instead of "no spin" on serve, I think just outlawing creating spin with both hands would be sufficient.. In other words, one hand only for the toss, one hand to hit with the paddle..

I agree that outlawing the crazy amount of spin that can be accumulated with 2 hands is a good thing for the game long term..

I agree with the idea of TW/TF resulting in the removal (or additional in some cases) of points. I would add to this that we remove the verbal warning though. You have 3 strikes and then a game or match forfeit.

I think we need to look at removing the spin as an advantage in the serve in steps rather than trying to jump to little/no spin only. A good first step might be no aided spin allowed. This would eliminate spinning the ball off the paddle or off another body part. A server could still flick the ball in their hand to generate some spin, but this does not create as much of an advantage.

If you remove the phrase "after the serve" and leave in "while the ball is live/in-play", you still have the same rule though. Taking this out and calling a fault for flicking a ball off the paddle for a serve would also introduce the side effect of having a fault called while the ball is no live/in-play which was changed in 2021 to simply when faults were called.

Giving a second serve opportunity will encourage more players to attempt serves that press the envelope on illegal verses legal motions, since they get a replay. There should be a distinct penalty for illegal serves and the player should not get a do over.

Disagree. This is pickleball, not tennis. A second serve is not necessary since players can accurately serve the ball the vast majority of the time.

The traditional method of scoring is one of the features that makes pickleball unique and perfectly challenging, It may take some players more time to grasp the method than others, but it is does not prevent them from immediately enjoying the game and they eventually learn the system. There is nothing wrong with the traditional scoring method so I don't see a need to change it. However, when time is of the essence, rally scoring can be used as a variation.

Just like to say I agree with this rule change! I can tell you in other sports with more mature rule books this is the case.

The losing team should then be required to also sign the scoresheet, in order to keep the winner from rushing to sign it to keep from losing their last point. Perhaps the time limit should instead be "when the Referee Leaves the court"

I agree with this change. No loss or gain of points occurs when the wrong score is called. If an incorrect score is not noted before the ball is served, the rally should not be interrupted; the score should be corrected after the rally is completed.

I agree that the drop serve should be full instated as a permanent rule. I do not agree that any changes should be made to the current rule concerning the drop serve. In all racquet sports the serve is a weapon and should not be restricted. In almost all tournaments you can see some players using the traditional serve in ways that could be considered questionable. In the quick service motion it is almost impossible (without slow motion replay) to decide if all the qualifications for a legal serve have been met. If any new change is made it might be in the best interest of the game to only allow the drop serve. Service questions automatically go away.

I concur with the suggested rule change. Giving players the opportunity to ask questions after the score is called is (and will be used as money grows) to disrupt the game. If referred matches the referee looks to both teams to ensure they are ready and at the same time is giving each team/player the opportunity to raise their hand above their head (halting the game) and then asking the score.

I agree with this change. Starting at 0/0-1 makes the scoring more easily taught to beginners. It actually makes winning the first serve more valuable when beginning a match.

Beginners do not “need” to learn more than one serve. I know many seniors that seem to prefer drop serves so they should be allowed to continue. People can pick a serve and do what they like.

I learned 002 when I was a beginner and I didn’t find it confusing. I find it less confusing than 00start. Rule book should allow both.

There should be conditions on which retirement is acceptable versus forfeit. Injury, time, weather, etc.

I’ve only tried rally point scoring once, in a king of the court type of scenario. Players found it confusing to who is serving and how people switch sides, also adding points to the score of the side that was not serving but won the rally.

I like the idea of rally points scoring, as the OP suggests it makes a more consistent time for games, and adds excitement and speed. I do however think it needs careful simulation and refinement on how serving and scoring works in the rally scenario. One advantage in side out scoring is that everyone gets a chance to serve fairly consistently, and it’s fairly easy to track who’s service it is.

I think clarity in the rules should be around who serves after a side out, which side do they serve from, how do players change sides, do sides get second serves. Best of three games, rotate after each game.

My comment is regarding the rule on serving from a dropped, bounced ball.

I began playing pickleball less than a year ago, and now I play 3 or 4 times per week. My playing ability is at a 3.0 - 3.5 level. When beginning, I struggled with serving by striking the ball in the air. I tried serving by dropping the ball and letting it bounce. I learned that this type serve gives me a bit more time to strike the ball and made it substantially easier to consistently hit the service area across the net. Therefore, I think this rule is important in allowing more players to learn to play and develop their game.

However, there is another important issue that this rule addresses. The pickleball rules have three requirements that are relevant to the bounce serve. First, the player's arm must be moving in an upward arc. (Rule 4.A.3.) Second, the highest point of the paddle head must not be above the player's wrist. (Rule4.A.4) Lastly, the ball must be struck below the level of the player's waist. (Rule 4.A.5). My observation of non-tournament play is that one or more of these rules is often violated when serving from the air - usually inadvertently. However, when serving from the bounce, it is virtually impossible to violate any of these rules as the ball doesn't bounce high enough to allow any of these three rules to be violated.

If anything is changed regarding the service rule, the Committee should consider banning serving the ball out of the air and requiring that the bounce serve be mandatory.

Thank you for allowing player comment on the Rules as you consider changes for 2022.

I am a pickleball instructor of beginner’s and offer them the opportunity to learn both serves. If they are struggling with the traditional serve, I encourage them to try the new drop serve. Almost all of them find it much easier to learn. There is also the advantage of having a different serve available if the person is mentally in a server’s slump, to do something completely different. I don’t see how it hurts to keep it! More tools in the ? toolbox! Thanks so much!