By Mark Peifer, USA Pickleball Certified Referee; Past Chairman, USA Pickleball Rules Committee
Question:
I know what the rule is for when a ball I hit to the other side bounces on the court and then backspins into the crossbar running along the bottom of the net before the opponent can play the ball. It’s a replay (Rule 13.B.2). What I don’t know, however, is why that is the rule. Can you explain why that is a replay?
Answer:
It’s a great question. In order to understand the rule, first we need to realize that the Rulebook assumes a standard net and net system. What is that? It is essentially two net posts with a net strung between them. Think of a smaller tennis net. When we use the term “permanent pickleball courts,” that is the type of net system we are generally talking about and the standard or reference net the rules are based on.
However, to meet the demand and growth of pickleball over the years, many different types of non-standard net systems were designed and built. We sometimes refer to these as temporary or portable nets. The sturdier subset of nets that fall into this category often have that thick steel crossbar at the bottom of the net that runs from one net post to the other. Rules had to be written to account for the design differences created by these portable nets.
Okay, back to your question.
Obviously, that crossbar is not there in the standard reference net system. But on a portable net it is there, so how do we account for it in rules space?
Think of it this way. I’ll use your scenario to illustrate.
You hit the ball across the net. It bounces on the other side. That is bounce number one. You have satisfied your requirement. You have done your job.
Now your opponent has to do their job. They have to hit the ball back to you before the ball bounces a second time or otherwise becomes dead.
If the ball backspins into that crossbar before the second bounce, the design of the net has interfered with your opponent’s opportunity to do their job. A piece of the net support system that would not be present on the standard reference net has affected what happens to the ball.
That isn’t fair to your opponent.
Admittedly, if the ball backspins sharply enough to hit that crossbar, there may not be much chance that the opponent could actually get to the ball. But that isn’t the point. We shouldn’t try to determine whether the opponent could have reached it. We need to give the player the opportunity they are entitled to have to play the ball before it bounces a second time.
That is why Rule 13.B.2 calls for a replay.
The rule specifically provides that when a returned ball crosses the net and contacts a crossbar or another part of the net support system within the court boundaries, either before or after the ball bounces, the rally must be replayed.
By the way, the portable nets that come out of a bag and use steel tubing for structural support are treated the same way in rules space.
