Have you ever hit the referee with a pickleball during a rally? Do you know what the ruling is if you hit the referee (say, for instance, when you are going for an around the post shot)? This happened to one of our Pickler community members.
Unfortunately, if you hit the referee with the pickleball on your shot, then you have committed a fault and will lose the rally. Yes, you will lose the rally, even if you hit the most beautiful off-court shot that was 100% going in. This is because a referee is considered to be a “permanent object” on the pickleball court – just like the fence, the net posts, ceiling, etc. are all considered permanent objects. And, when the pickleball hits a permanent object before bouncing on the court, whoever hit the pickleball commits a fault and loses the rally. So, beware, and try to avoid, those referees out on the pickleball court!
For a deeper breakdown on all of the rules of pickleball, check out Pickler’s Ultimate Guide to the Rules of Pickleball.
Have you had an interesting rules issue on the pickleball court? Send it to us at stacie@thepickler.com, so we can share with the rest of the pickleball community in a future newsletter.
