Our club recently held a tournament, and a few of us were asked to act as “referees.” To be clear, we weren’t full-fledged refs—we were only called in if a team wanted us to watch for specific things, like non-volley zone (NVZ) foot faults. FYI: I have been a full-fledged ref, but the requirements (such as having to ref at a number of sanctioned tournaments) got too burdensome, so I no longer ref.
Anyway, what has struck me after more than a dozen years playing pickleball is how many players don’t really know the rules as well as they think they do.
Here’s an example: I was playing doubles in a recreational game when one of my opponents hit a ball into the net. Immediately afterward, his partner claimed that a stray ball had rolled onto the court, and that’s why the shot was missed. Now, in casual play, most of us would allow a replay in that situation. But, because I knew that they were going to play in the tournament, I told them that the point would be lost—no do-overs. The player who hit the net wasn’t too happy about that, but I reminded him: that’s the rule.
It made me realize how important it is for all of us to have a working knowledge of the official rule book—not just the basics, but the finer details too.
If you’re curious about how well you actually know the rules, USA Pickleball offers a 50-question online rules test. It’s a great way to see where you stand. The test allows 50 minutes, but I recommend approaching it as though you were in a live match—no flipping through the rule book.
I took the test myself and finished in about five minutes with an 88% score. The only questions I missed were about things like forfeits and player warnings—areas that don’t come up much in recreational play. The best part is, you can retake the test as often as you’d like, and the questions will shuffle each time.
Here’s the link if you’d like to give it a try:
👉 USA Pickleball Rules Test