Questions About the 2024 Rules

Q. I read that under the new rules any player can ask for the head referee or tournament director if they think an opponent’s paddle may be illegal, but how would I ever determine that a paddle might be illegal?

A. Players don’t usually check the paddles of opponents before a match, although we could see that start to happen this year, so the only thing that might trigger you to question a paddle is its sound or appearance. Paddles can delaminate and that will usually result in the hit having an unusual sound. The usual sound might include a loud “click” when a ball is hit. You might also notice a paddle that has a highly reflective surface because a sticker or other material has been added to it, which is not permitted. If a paddle appears or sounds unusual, it is worth asking for a paddle check.

Q. Why did USA Pickleball designate a new type of paddle approval, which they term “Quiet Category,” since we can’t use those paddles in sanctioned tournaments? Why not just let those paddles be deemed “Not Approved”?

A. There are many ways to build a paddle, and some types of construction may significantly change the way a ball comes off the face of a paddle. As manufacturers seek methods of making some paddles quieter, there is a risk that this kind of performance change can happen.

Not only might that lead to major changes in spin, but it may also result in paddles that store more energy during contact—and that extra stored energy may be returned to the ball as an increase in speed. The technical term for this is “coefficient of restitution,” which is the ratio of the final velocity to the initial velocity between two objects after their collision. It uses the word restitution because it’s a measure of what the paddle gives back to the ball after it is struck.

While that may not seem very important, and it may even seem great if a paddle delivers more “power,” the problem is that the kinetic energy increases as the square of the velocity of the ball (which can cause damage when it hits someone). A 25% increase in velocity over an ordinary pickleball hit, for instance, would mean 1.25 or 1.56 times as much energy! USA Pickleball certainly does not want the sport to be less safe.

Also, the Quiet Category defines products that reduce the acoustic signature of the sport, whether it’s the equipment used by a player, or treatments such as architectural panels to reduce acoustics in facilities. Manufacturers are already working to deliver noise-reduced products that both meet the goals of the Quiet Category, but also meet USA Pickleball’s stringent certification standards for tournament play.  •