By Greg McAfee, Pickleball League Vice President
AFTER I HIT A WINNER VOLLEY, THE BALL BOUNCED TWICE BUT I THEN STEPPED INTO THE NON-VOLLEY ZONE “KITCHEN.” WHO WINS THE POINT?
Your opponent won the point. Even though the ball bounced twice on their side of the court, you still must complete your shot and your momentum from that shot carried you into the kitchen. It does not matter if the ball bounced twice, if it hit the opponent, or if they missed the next shot. You lose the point.
FOLLOW UP TO THE LAST QUESTION. WHO CAN MAKE THIS CALL? THE OPPONENT, OR DO WE HAVE TO CALL IT ON OURSELVES IF WE VIOLATE THE NO VOLLEY IN THE KITCHEN RULE?
Anyone on the court can make the call, but if a player calls a foot fault on an opponent, the opponent must agree; otherwise, you replay the point. This goes for service foot faults as well. See USA Pickleball rule 13.D.1.c: “Players may call non-volley zone and service foot faults on the opponent’s end of the court. If there is any disagreement among players about the called foot fault, a replay shall occur.”
I CAN NEVER REMEMBER THE SCORE. IS THERE A WAY TO HELP ME KNOW WHAT THE SCORE SHOULD BE?
Yes. One of the best things you can do is remember on which side you started the game. If you start on the right (deuce) side of the court, your team score will always be an even score when you are on that side. If you start on the left (ad) side of the court, the score will always be even when you are on that side. Here’s an example: You started serving for your team at the very beginning so you were on the right side of the court, and your team score was zero. Every two points, you are back in that same spot so if your team has 0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14 points, then you know you should be standing on the side you started on. If you forget the score, check where you are standing and that will help you know if your score should be an odd or even number. Hope that helps!
IN THE THIRD GAME, WHEN DO WE SWITCH SIDES?
In a game to 15 points, the teams will switch ends when the first team reaches a score of 8. The serve remains with the player holding serve. Just take note of which side of the court (ad or deuce) you are standing on before you change ends.
