The Thing About Line Calls

When in doubt, call the ball…. In. But how many people actually follow this code of ethics? Shaky line calling can actually lead to people avoiding certain players.

A reputation of bad line calling is just not a good thing to have - I recall this being “a thing” in club tennis, too. In a previous article, I discussed a few sensitive areas in pickleball, areas that tend to cause on court controversy and off court discussion.

One of those mentions was line calling. Like its sister-sports (tennis and badminton), line calls in pickleball can cause a really big momentum shift and can be the difference between a win and a loss.

Let's dive in...

Photo credit: Sara McInnes

In the USAP Rulebook Section 6 is dedicated to line calling. I believe one of the most important rules in this section is this:

6.D.7. Players shall not call a ball “out” unless they can clearly see a space between the line and the ball as it hits the ground.

Teams Make Their Own Line Calls

Sometimes teammates are not in the best position/spot on the court to make the line call.

For example if you’re standing in a place where the ball is between you and the line then it’s simply too hard to make a true line call, unless the ball is like 6 inches - or more - away from the line.

If you’re the player chasing down a ball then sometimes you aren’t looking at the line. At the moment, the rally is a blur and it can be hard to make the call.

So unless you’re absolutely sure the ball is out, you’re going to have to call it in.

Photo credit: Sara McInnes

For many reasons, line calls are definitely one of the more controversial aspects of pickleball.

For recreational games and competitive matches, players are responsible for making their own line calls - even when there is a referee (the referee can only overturn an original call, they are not responsible for making the initial call, though). 

Here’s maybe one of the hardest parts about line calling: when a person just simply does not believe the call that’s made it can be very hard to shake off the situation. It usually leaves a bad taste in someone’s mouth.

My advice would be to call a time-out, or if this happens during a recreational game, just let the call slide.

Either way, a bad judgment call is not worth losing a match over.

Let’s say you are in a tournament and you play someone who makes bad line calls - your team has the right to ask for a referee before, during or after (for future matches) a match.

I’d like to believe, however, that for the most part players are making calls to the best of their ability and are not intentionally trying to cheat.

Additional Considerations

- Depending on the court surface, but at the same, in most cases, if the ball hits the edge of a sideline or baseline it will actually skip off the surface/paint or tape. Obviously, if the ball skips or changes directions on the bounce and you’re unsure if the ball hit the line or not this is a pretty clear indication that it did

- You shouldn’t let the crowd influence your teams’ call, despite what they see and say, the only call that matters is yours or your teammates

- If you and your teammate aren’t on the same page with a line call then you must call the ball in

At the end of the day, be honest and do your best to make fair calls. Be loud and indicate clearly with your hand when you see a ball out as well.

Photo credit: Sara McInnes

Pro Tours and VAR

Video Assistant Referee has been used in most professional sports for decades, and it was introduced to professional soccer not long ago. Tennis uses a hawkeye camera for line call challenges.

On the PPA tour, previous to the Texas Open (which just occurred June 2-4) video review for line calls was only available for the professional quarter, semi, and final matches - which all take place on championship court.

However, PPA verified directly with me that “pros can now video challenge any call on championship court! Doesn’t matter what round we’re playing in”.

If you’re unfamiliar with the PPA Tour, when pro teams want to challenge a line call made by their opponent they must use a time-out in order to do so. Each time is granted two timeouts per match.

If the call is overturned in their favour then they keep the timeout, however, if the call stands then their time out is “burned”. A player must be pretty sure about the call their challenging as they stand to potentially lose a valuable asset.

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