My tag line has always been...."how did the ball come off your paddle today?" This entry will deal with a situation that happened where the ball didn't come off the paddle and how it affected play. The scenario: On court one, one of our players hits a soft lob that looked like it was not going to go over the net. Playfully his partner attempted to "assist" the ball over the net by reaching up to tap it (knowing full well that touching the ball a second time would be a violation). The partner missed the ball completely, AND, the ball did barely make it back over the net and bounced twice on the opponent's side. One of the opponents claimed that the attempt to "assist" the ball over the net was a distraction and she gave up on the ball because of that action. If you were officiating this game, how would you rule? In the comments section below, please give your ruling.
We had 18 players today. To the many Pickleball venues around the country that have 8-12-16 courts, this number does not sound too impressive. Here in Paso Robles we have five outdoor courts and we are getting such good participation (after only 10 months of playing) that we are almost full on a regular basis. Impressive....and we had 6-8 regulars who were not here. BTW, wherever you played today, "how did the ball come off your paddle?"
No infraction. Does not sound like partner intentionally tried to deceive the opponent.
ReplyDeleteNot so sure. Gray area, but I would rule in favor of opponent who questioned the distraction.
ReplyDeleteno infraction. always play a ball.
ReplyDelete