As the official governing body for the sport of pickleball, USA pickleball amends and sets the rules for the upcoming pickleball year. Any USA pickleball member may submit a new rule proposal during the six month open period and any player is allowed to comment on the suggestions that are submitted. For the pickleball rule changes 2024, this rulebook year saw the largest number of rules proposals submitted in the past five years, so it was a busy year for the pickleball rules committee.
There were 92 rules proposals submitted in 2023 for the upcoming 2024 rulebook year. Of the rules proposals submitted, 27 were approved by the USA Pickleball Board of Directors for inclusion in to the 2024 Pickleball rulebook.
Lets look at some of the more meaningful pickleball rule changes 2024, updates, and / or revisions made for this pickleball year.
Catch or Carry Ball on the Paddle: rule 7.L was updated to remove the word “deliberate” so a referee will not be forced to determine “intent” if a player were to carry or catch a ball on the paddle. The rule change now makes catching or carrying a ball on the paddle a fault without having to determine that the catch or carry was deliberately done.
Double Hit: for rule 11.A, the same principle applies. Double hits are still permitted in pickleball play. However, the words “deliberate” and “intentional” from the 2023 rule were removed and the updated rule reads “balls can be hit twice, but this must occur during a continuous single-direction stroke by one player. If the stroke made while serving or during a rally is not continuous, or not in a single direction, or the ball is struck by a second player, it is a fault”.
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Draping Net: rules 2.C.6 and 11.L.5.b in the 2023 rulebook had required a referee to determine if a ball was affected when traveling over the net (except on a serve) and hitting the net that is draped on the ground. In the new 2024 rule, except on the serve, a replay will be called automatically if a ball travels over the net and hits a draping net on the ground. The new rule removes the requirement for the referee to make a determination if the ball was affected when hitting the draping net.
Correcting Server, Receiver and Player Position Errors: In previous years, a fault would be called if a player was in the wrong serve or receiver position or if there were any player position errors when a point began. Players would frequently ask the referee before a point began “Am I good” and this would be acceptable to establish player positions on the court. There is a new rule put in place 4.B.9 where “the referee will confirm and correct, if necessary, that all players are in the correct position and the correct server has the ball before calling the score”.
But what happens if a point begins, and a server or returner has been shown to be in the wrong position? Two rule updates have been added to address this scenario:
4.B.9.a: if the referee or a player stops a rally in progress to correctly identify a player/position error, the rally shall be replayed. If a player stops a rally and incorrectly identifies a player/position error, it is a fault on the player that stopped the rally. If the referee stops a rally in progress and incorrectly identifies a player/position error, the rally shall be replayed.
4.B.9.b: if a player/position error is identified after the rally has played out, the rally shall stand.
Paddle Specifications (2.E.2/2.E.5.a/2.E.5.c) USA Pickleball updated the paddle specifications to address new and emerging paddle technology and features and to clarify any upgrades or alterations that players are allowed to make to approved paddles. One other rule change for this year applies to non-officiated play, if a player feels their opponent is using a paddle that is not USAP approved, the player is allowed to request the Head Referee or Tournament Director to come to the court to inspect their opponents paddle to ensure it is a legal paddle.
A player may only make paddle alterations that comply with the following guidelines according to the USA Pickleball Rulebook.
2.E.5.a: Alterations may include such items as edge guard tape/replacements, weighted tape, weights for an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) integrated weight system, changes to the grip size via inserts, grip wraps, OEM interchangeable grips, OEM replacement paddle faces, and name decals and/or other identification markings on the paddle face.
2.E.5.b: Decals and tape can extend no farther than 1.0 inch (2.54 cm) above the top of the grip nor more than 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) inside the outer edge of a paddle or, if an edge guard is in place, 0.5 inch inside the edge guard.
2.E.5.c: Handwritten markings are allowed on the paddle’s playing surface as long as they do not impact the surface roughness and they are in good taste. No aftermarket graphics are allowed on a commercially made paddle other than handwritten pen markings.
Medical Time-Outs (10.B.2.b) the 2023 rule required that any player who could not resume playing after using their 15-minute medical timeout would be required to retire from the match. The updated rule for 2024 states a player is now allowed to use available standard time-outs after the 15-minute medical time-out has expired to allow more time before the player must either continue play or retire from the match.
Mini-Singles (12.O) Mini-singles has been updated to an approved format. The specific rules governing mini-singles have been incorporated into the 2024 Rulebook.
Rally Scoring: this proposal was one of the most anticipated decisions from the Board of Directors for USA Pickleball and they chose to put this proposal on hold, pending further review for now. It was determined that while rally scoring works well for singles play, there are several possible variations for doubles play with none of those proving to be superior. This proposal will be reviewed at a later date as the Board gathers more data.
Key Takeaways:
Most of the meaningful rules proposals adopted for 2024 apply to tournament play and will have little affect on the pickleball recreational player.
The new rules do make the job of the pickleball referee less subjective and more clear when managing a match. The referee’s now do not have to determine intent on a shot or whether a player hit a shot deliberately or intentionally. At many matches where the referee was required to make a call on such a shot, this often left quite a bit of uncertainty on the court from players that lost a point from what may have been a questionable ruling by a referee.
Also part of the 2024 pickleball rule changes were rules that apply to different line call scenarios.
The first one applies to rule 6.D.12, this applies mostly to the recreational pickleball player, and allows a player to override their own line call. The new rule reads, “after the completion of a rally, players may overrule a partner’s line call, their own line call, an officiating teams line call, or an opponents “in” call to their own disadvantage”.
In the spirit of sportsmanship, the wording was added that a player can override their own line call since the rules committee felt like that language should have been a part of the original rule when it was implemented.
There is also a rule added about line calls in a tournament setting and is known as Conceding a Rally.
Rule 13.E.5 states if a player disagrees with a line judges “out” call that benefited their team, the player may overrule the “out” call as “in”. The player or team may now choose to concede the rally to their opponent if they determine they would have been unable to return the “in” ball.
As we said earlier, most of the pickleball rule changes 2024 are more suited for tournament play, but recreational pickleball players should be aware of all the changes so they can become familiar with the rules that apply to them.
Have fun on the courts and we hope you find our 2024 pickleball rules changes summary helpful.
I think the rule on a shot that gets pass both players and then the player falls in the kitchen should be reviewed. I would like to see that be come a point for the guy that hit it. Instead of losing a point
I can see your point. The kitchen area causes so much confusion on the pickleball court. Any rule(s) that makes it easier for all pickleball players to better understand what they can and can’t do in the kitchen is ok with me.