What If I Think I See an Illegal Serve in Pickleball?

A recent article by Payton Bond in The Kitchen suggested that the server change to a drop serve if the receiver questions their serve.  This article is geared towards the receiver who questions a serve and lists things to think about before questioning a serve.

• Make sure you really understand the serve rules.  Know that drop serves do not have to follow the 3 rules for volley serves (from USA Pickleball).  The volley serve rules are as follows.
  • The server’s arm must be moving in an upward arc when the ball is struck.
  • Paddle contact with the ball must not be made above the waist level.
  • The head of the paddle must not be above the highest part of the wrist at contact.
• Some comments on the above.
  • It’s important to know that all the rules are at contact.  It’s very hard to judge the contact point from the receiver’s point of view. It can look like the ball is hit higher from the receiver point of view as the ball travels in front of the paddle and typically follows the same trajectory.
  • The height rule is NOT ABOVE THE WAIST.  Many people think the rules say contact must be below the waist.  Initial contact can be at at waist (belly button) height.
  • Waist height is different from hip height.  Many people think the hip is the waist.  The waist is higher and is typically defined in pickleball as the belly button.
  • The height is when fully standing.  If the server bends down, the waist height is still the height when not bent down. You may be judging height from the current waist height, which is not correct.
  • Note that the upward arc is also at contact. So after contact, various movements can be made to impart spin.  Again, these can be hard to judge  and present a different picture from the receiver point of view.
  • There is no requirement to have an underhand serve nor is there a specific rule against “side arm” serves as long as the three rules are met.
• All of this is very hard to judge as the receiver so many people suggest not commenting unless there is an egregious violation like an overhead smash tennis serve that a beginner may not know is illegal.
• The rules state that the receiver may not call a volley serve fault (except for foot faults, which are typically never called in recreation pickleball).
• Most commenters on this topic recommend talking to person AFTER THE GAME if you do have a concern.  It creates an unpleasant vibe to start questioning serves during a game. And keep the above in mind.  1) Are you actually correct? As pointed out, it’s really hard to judge from the receiver’s point of view, especially borderline cases.  2) Are you having sour grapes on a tough serve? 3) Should you look at a hard to return serve as on opportunity to get better at returning tough serves? 4) If you are really sure there may be a consistent issue, say what you THINK you saw from your point of view.  Suggest they video their serve to be sure.  [Note this is not that easy to do and many times, involves looking in slow motion and capturing the frame right at the point of contact and from a side or 45 degree angle, which shows how hard it is for the receiver to judge.]