Eliminate the Volley Serve

4.A.5. The serve is made by striking the ball after it bounces on the playing surface and can be made with either a forehand or backhand motion. There is no restriction on how many times the ball can bounce nor where the ball can bounce on the playing surface.

4.A.6. The serve shall be made with only one hand or the paddle releasing the ball from a height not above the shoulder (horizontal extension of the arm). (Alternately: “from any natural (un-aided) height.”) While some natural rotation of the ball is expected during any release of the ball, the server shall not impart manipulation or spin on the ball with any part of the body or the paddle as a result of the release. Exception: The server may allow the ball to roll off the face of the paddle by gravity.

4.A.7. In officiated matches, the server’s release of the ball must be visible to the referee and receiver. In matches without a referee, the server’s release of the ball must be visible to the receiver. A replay as determined in accordance with Rule 4.A.9 shall occur when the release is not visible.

4.A.8. When releasing the ball, the ball shall not be propelled in any direction or in any manner prior to striking the ball to make the serve.

4.A.7. The Volley Serve. The volley serve is made by striking the ball without bouncing the ball off the playing surface and can be made with either a forehand or backhand motion. A proper volley serve includes the following elements:

4.A.7.a. The server’s arm must be moving in an upward arc at the time the ball is struck with the paddle. (See Figure 4-3.)

4.A.7.b. The highest point of the paddle head must not be above the highest part of the wrist (where the wrist joint bends) when the paddle strikes the ball. (See Figures 4-1 and 4-2)

4.A.7.c Contact with the ball must not be made above the waist. (See Figures 4-1 and 4-3)

4.A.5. The serve shall be made with only one hand or the paddle releasing the ball. While some natural rotation of the ball is expected during any release of the ball, the server shall not impart manipulation or spin on the ball with any part of the body or the paddle as a result of the release. Exception: The server may allow the ball to roll off the face of the paddle by gravity.

4.A.6. In officiated matches, the server’s release of the ball must be visible to the referee and receiver. In matches without a referee, the server’s release of the ball must be visible to the receiver. A replay as determined in accordance with Rule 4.A.9 shall occur when the release is not visible.

4.A.7. The Volley Serve. The volley serve is made by striking the ball without bouncing the ball off the playing surface and can be made with either a forehand or backhand motion. A proper volley serve includes the following elements:

4.A.7.a. The server’s arm must be moving in an upward arc at the time the ball is struck with the paddle. (See Figure 4-3.)

4.A.7.b. The highest point of the paddle head must not be above the highest part of the wrist (where the wrist joint bends) when the paddle strikes the ball. (See Figures 4-1 and 4-2)

4.A.7.c. Contact with the ball must not be made above the waist. (See Figures 4-1 and 4-3)

4.A.8. The Drop Serve. The drop serve is made by striking the ball after it bounces on the playing surface and can be made with either a forehand or backhand motion. There is no restriction how many times the ball can bounce nor where the ball can bounce on the playing surface. A proper drop serve includes the following elements:

4.A.8.a. The server must release the ball from one hand only or drop it off the paddle face from any natural (un-aided) height. When releasing the ball, the ball shall not be propelled in any direction or in any manner prior to striking the ball to make the serve.

4.A.8.c. The restrictions on the Volley Serve in Rule 4.A.7 do not apply to the drop serve

The current rules for the Volley Serve make a mockery of the Official Rules of pickleball. Strong illegal and/or borderline serves are increasingly dominating the game. The Volley Serve should be eliminated and the Drop/Bounce Serve adopted as the only legal means of serving for the following reasons.

1. Illegal and borderline (uncertain) volley serves are epidemic, particularly in non-officiated tournament and recreational play (99+% of all pickleball games).
2. Many referees are reluctant to call illegal and uncertain volley serves due to the vagueness of the current rules and subjectiveness of applying them:
   1. The elements of a volley serve must be seen dynamically in a matter of milliseconds as the paddle contacts the ball.
   2. The observer must watch the contact point vs. a non-visible and poorly defined “waist”.
   3. The observer must watch the highest point of the paddle head vs. the highest point of the wrist, both of which are indistinct.
   4. The observer must discern an upward arc of +/- 1% at contact.
   5. It is impossible for a player or referee to watch those 3 elements plus foot faults, visible release, no spin imparted (6 things!) at the same time.
   6. The elements must be observed by a referee from a distance of 22 to 30 feet at an angle.
3. In non-officiated play, it is even more difficult for the receiving team to accurately determine whether a volley serve is legal or illegal.
4. By contrast to the dynamic, vague and subjective nature of judging a volley serve, the key elements of the Drop/Bounce Serve (height of release, no spin, not propelled) occur in a static situation and thus are much easier for players and referees to observe.
5. Various modifications of the volley serve rules have been tried (by PPA) to reduce the dominance of the volley serve. It cannot be fixed due to the high degree of subjectivity of any the proposed fixes.
6. The Drop/Bounce Serve has been characterized as “juvenile’ or “junior varsity” (reportedly by UPA-PPA executives). Frankly, those characterizations are silly. The sports of racquetball and Padel seem to have no problem with the the Drop/Bounce Serve.
7. Elimination of the Volley Serve was proposed in Rule Change ID 1387 for 2025. The reasons given for disapproval were: “This was previously proposed and disapproved. The reasons for prior disapproval are still relevant and there has been no substantively new information provided to refute them, as follows: - The vast majority of volley serves are legal, so making the change to make it easier on the referees or to relieve contentiousness among players does not warrant the removal of the volley serve. - Referees have the option to call for a re-serve if it is not clear that the serve is legal. - Most players use the volley serve, so this would affect a huge number of players. - The incremental value of a close illegal serve is minimal.” I respectfully disagree with that reasoning.
   1. A majority of volley serves may be legal, but that percentage is dropping as lax or nonexistent enforcement, ignorance of the rules, and the subjectivity of applying the rules continues to increase and is no longer a “vast majority”. In almost any game today, especially in non-officiated play, you are very likely to see one or more players with borderline/illegal volley serves.
   2. The incremental value of a close illegal serve is not minimal; it is an offensive weapon.
   3. Adoption of the Drop/Bounce Serve as the only option would have minimal impact. Most players at lower levels (and increasingly at intermediate and advanced levels) are using the Drop/Bounce Serve. For those players who exclusively use the volley serve, it would be a matter of minutes for them to adapt to using the Drop/Bounce Serve. It is simply a matter of dropping the ball and using a forehand or backhand groundstroke to strike the ball.
8. This proposal is thoroughly consistent with the Guiding Principles for the Rules:
   1. “Avoid ambiguity, player discretion, or referee judgment-related rules.” The current volley serve rules are the height of ambiguity, discretion, and subjective judgment.
   2. “… prevent one shot… from dominating the sport.” Increasingly, aggressive bordering and illegal serves are becoming a dominant force in the game.
   3. Preserve the unique features and rules of the sport…” Clearly the Founding Fathers of pickleball intended for the serve to be a means of putting the ball into play rather than an offensive weapon. That original intent has been lost as the volley serve has become more and more aggressive.
9. The added provision imbedded in this proposal to reduce the potential height of the release point from “any natural (un-aided) height” to shoulder level is another means of reducing the height at which the ball is contacted and requiring more upward arc on the flight of the ball to further limit the aggressiveness of the serve. The rest of the proposal is not dependent upon its incorporation, although now would be a good time to make this change.

All volley serves.