| Rule Submission Title | 6.C.1. to clearly permit OUT calls on opponents' court |
|---|---|
| USAP Board Vote | Disapproved |
| USAP Board Vote Reason | Unnecessary because 6.C.11 allows them to do this. |
| Existing Rule # | 6.C.1. |
| Proposed Rule Change | 6.C.1. Players are responsible for calling the lines on their end of the court (excluding short serves, service foot faults and all non-volley-zone faults, if being called by a referee). Players may also call lines on the opponents' court to the player's own disadvantage. If a player makes an initial line call, and then asks for either the opponent(s) or the referee’s opinion, if the opponent or referee can make a clear “in” or “out” call, the clear call will stand. If no clear call can be made, the initial line call by the player will stand. A call made by the opponent can be appealed to the referee for a final “in” or “out” decision. |
| Original Rule Text | 6.C.1. Players are responsible for calling the lines on their end of the court (excluding short serves, service foot faults and all non-volley-zone faults, if being called by a referee). If a player makes an initial line call, and then asks for either the opponent(s) or the referee’s opinion, if the opponent or referee can make a clear “in” or “out” call, the clear call will stand. If no clear call can be made, the initial line call by the player will stand. A call made by the opponent can be appealed to the referee for a final “in” or “out” decision. |
| Reasoning Behind Suggested Change | Many believe players have the responsibility to make their own unsolicited line calls of OUT on balls they have struck to the opponents' court, to the calling player's disadvantage. Current rules do not directly address this, the nearest rule being 13.D.1.a., which deals with players calling faults against themselves or partners; and also 6.C.11. which allows overrule of "IN rulings", which is synonymous in the rule book with final decisions. With a specific rule allowing far court OUT calls, 6.C.11. can return to being purely for overrule of adjudicated rulings, the final decisions from refs, partners, or opponents.
Section 6 on Line Calls is comprehensive. Making line calls on the opponents' court should have proper treatment that governs the practice.
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| Scenarios In Which the Rules Applies | Server A1 serves and sees he missed the service court. The receivers hesitate to make a call, so by proposed 6.C.1, server A1 makes a line call of OUT to his own disadvantage, resulting in his loss of serve. Same scenario except the receivers determine the serve was IN. They overrule the OUT call to IN to their own disadvantage, per 6.C.11. |
| Rule Book Year | 2026 |
| Rule Change ID | 2369 |
| Date Created | May 28, 2025 |
| View Comments | View Comments |
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