TLDR pickleball rule changes for 2023: You can’t intentionally add spin to the ball with your hand prior to making contact with your paddle.
First up, we’ve got a new rule about apparel. Basically, don’t wear clothes that are the same color as the tournament ball, or the tournament director might make you change during a non-chargeable time-out.
Next, we’ve got a rule change about the spin serve. You can’t intentionally add spin to the ball when you serve, but some natural rotation is allowed.
The referee now has the power to stop play and order a replay if they’re not sure all the serve requirements have been met, and they can also call an immediate fault if a serve clearly violates the rules.
Also, players can still ask questions about who the correct server and receiver is before the serve is hit, and the referee will answer both questions if the server says something like “Am I good?”.
If someone calls the wrong score, the referee or any player can stop play before the return of serve to correct it. But if you try to stop play to correct the score after the return of serve, or if the score was called correctly, it’s a fault.
Finally, players don’t have to use a regular time-out for equipment adjustments anymore. The referee will call an equipment time-out of a reasonable duration.
Here’s the official rulebook full of the 2023 rule changes.
How do you feel about the spin serve change? I found the reasoning to be flawed. USA Pickleball’s reasoning is extremely flawed for the change. When the rule change was passed, the reasoning was as follows:
1) Original purpose was to just use the serve to get a begin play 2) Most players cannot master a truly effective spin serve, or return a good spin serve 3) Effective spin serves require more court space to allow a receiver to react. 4) Only a limited number of players have mastered this, giving them an unfair advantage 5) It is particularly devastating for amateur players Edit: replace ‘reserve’ with ‘replay’
Weird wording. Although I do agree with reasoning number 3 because far too often courts are not constructed with enough space. Even at the premiere facility everyone loves here in St. Louis with Missouri Pickleball Club, the fencing is too close to the sides making around the post shots more difficult. There have been many courts where I’m touching the fence just standing 12 inches hehind the baseline. However, if you are skilled and can consistently place the ball on the baseline, then are we going to go down the rabbit hole and start banning serves that are within a specific boundary on the receiver’s side? This is why I don’t agree with the reasoning above to ban hand imparted spin. You can apply the reasoning above to many facets of the game. ATPs, Erne, speed-ups, and paddle imparted spin shots. Let’s take ATPs (around-the-post shots) for example.
ATPs aren’t possible at the beginning of play, so reason 1 is out. But 2-5 can be applied. Most players can’t master an effective ATP. ATP certainly requires more court space, which also helps a person to react. A limited number of players have mastered an ATP, which I guess gives them an unfair advantage. (I don’t agree with this wording of “unfair advantage, but I’ll get to that in a bit.) And 5, yeah, it certainly is devastating for amateur players, but it’s also devastating to pro players when they are on the receiving end of an ATP. Lol.
Let me get back to the “unfair advantage” wording. That’s a slippery slope. You take the time to practice. Hours. Days. And finally you’ve mastered the thing you’ve been trying to accomplish. This is talent. You’ve literally added a skill to be more talented. That’s not inherently unfair. Sure, I’ve been on the receiving end of a wicked spin serve, but I laughed it off and continued to play. I’ve also hit a wild spin serve causing the receiver to trip and miss their return. There needs to be sportsmanship. Certainly in rec play you can communicate with the other team prior to your match. Let them know you’d rather have a casual experience or if you want to practice returning wicked spin serves. Make the rules prior to the game. For tournament play, I think it makes sense to play in the bracket based on your skills. If you’ve mastered certain talents, like a spin serve, then you’re automatically grouped in with advanced players. Just a thought.
The only unfair thing in the sport at the moment are pros receiving paddles from manufacturers that normies can’t. Pros are getting paddles with extra gritty surfaces, and ones that wouldn’t pass USAPA inspection. That’s unfair. When you are actively supplying equipment privately and secretly to a select few players, then that is unfair. That’s like a baseball manufacturer giving extra slick and slimy balls to pitchers for the Yankees. No one else gets these!
So how should this have been worded? Keeping it to reasoning 3 with lack of essential space to react makes sense. It could endanger players and increases liability. Spin serves at MPC can be atrocious at times. There really isn’t enough room to react. But I’ve only seen one person with the ability to perform that kind of serve, and he can do it without imparting spin with his hand. So it’s still legal. Again, because of the precedent above, this can also be banned in the future. Should it be?
Banning talents shouldn’t be allowed. That’s unfair to the players.