What do the tournament rules ask of a pickleball player?

Rule 18.A puts the burden on you. A tournament paddle must meet the specifications in Rule 3.D and appear on the USA Pickleball Approved Paddle List. Players must confirm this themselves.

What a non-compliant paddle costs depends on when somebody notices it:

The middle row is the expensive one. A paddle that went unnoticed through two rounds can cost you the third match if an opponent raises it halfway through. Look up both of your paddles on the list before you travel and keep the spare in your bag.

In a match without a referee, an opponent who doubts your paddle cannot rule on it. Under Rule 24.D they ask the Head Referee or the Tournament Director to decide whether it is approved.

Section 18 also covers what you wear and what you carry on court.

Clothing (18.B). Graphics and writing must be in good taste, and shoe soles must not mark or damage the court. The Tournament Director can order you to change anything they consider inappropriate, including a shirt close to the color of the ball. If that happens during a match, you change in a referee time-out. Refuse, and the Tournament Director may forfeit your match (18.B.4).

Starting server marker (18.C). In doubles, each team's starting server wears whatever identification the Tournament Director requires. It must stay visible to the officials and the opponents throughout play. Refusing to wear it can also cost the match (18.C.1).

Headphones and earbuds (18.D). During competition play you may not wear or use headphones, earbuds or any other equipment that allows audio communication. The only exception is a prescribed or required hearing aid. Take them out before you walk on court.

Rule 18.E makes the schedule your problem. Each player has to check the posted times and courts and any notices of changes. The Tournament Director must announce changes made after the first posting (16.L), but finding them is up to you.

Once your match is called, Rule 18.F starts a clock:

• After 10 minutes without you on court, the referee imposes a game forfeit. You lose the first game, recorded as 0-11 in a game to 11 (22.H). In a one-game match that ends the match.
• After 15 minutes, a multi-game match is forfeited.

Only the Tournament Director can grant extra time, and only for extenuating circumstances (16.M). A match cannot begin until all players are present and the starting score has been called, so in doubles a partner stuck in traffic costs the whole team.

If your partner is injured or ill before the first-round match, the Tournament Director may approve a partner change (18.G). Once the two of you have started playing as a team, a change is no longer allowed.

Section 21 sets every pause in a match:

Two details catch players out. A time-out must be requested before the serve is hit, by voice or hand signal, towards the opponents and the referee. Ask after the serve and it is a fault against you (21.A.2.a). And no time-out of either kind can be taken before the match starts (21.A.1, 21.C.1).

Between games you may add one or both time-outs to the two-minute break, as long as you tell the referee (21.A.3). When a medical time-out runs out, any standard time-outs you have left can buy more time before the match is retired (21.C.9).

Who calls the lines depends on whether line judges are on court (Section 19).

Referee without line judges. You call “out” on the baseline, the sidelines and the center service line at your end (19.B). The referee calls service foot faults, short serves and non-volley zone faults (19.A.1).

Referee with line judges. You keep only the center service line at your end (19.C.2). Any other call you make is invalid, except an override of an official's call in your opponent's favor (19.C.3).

Appeals follow Rule 19.D. Only a rally-ending shot can be appealed, any player may appeal, and the appeal must come before the next serve is hit. For the last shot of the match, appeal before the scoresheet is initialed. If the referee overrules your “out” call, that is a fault against you (19.F.1). If the referee did not see where the ball landed, your call stands; if nobody saw it, the ball is in (19.G.1, 19.G.2).

The timing of an “out” call changed in 2026 (Rule 8.F.3). If you return the ball, call it before your opponent hits it or before the ball is dead, otherwise play continues. If you do not return it, a prompt call still counts even after the ball is dead. Under the 2025 wording you could wait until the next serve.

When a tournament match has no referee, Section 24 says that the players run their own matches and report the result, under every rule of Parts II and III except those that need an official. The line-calling code still holds: call a ball out only when you can see space between the ball and the line, and give your opponent the benefit of the doubt (8.D, 8.E).

Five modifications matter on the day:

• Help (24.C). Any player may ask for a referee or the Tournament Director when an opponent keeps breaking rules or a dispute cannot be settled quickly.
• Paddle doubts (24.D). The Head Referee or Tournament Director decides whether a paddle is approved.
• Time-outs between games (24.E). Tell your opponents, not a referee, before the next game starts.
• Spare ball (24.B.1). A spare ball that is visible to the opponent or falls on the court during a rally is a fault against you.
• Retiring (24.F). You retire from a match by telling your opponent.

At events run in JudgeMate, the organizer enters scores by default and can switch on player reporting: pairs and singles players then enter the score of pool and round robin matches themselves and the other side confirms it, while knockout results stay with the organizer. The bracket and standings on the event page update once the score is confirmed. JudgeMate sends no SMS or push alerts, so the posted schedule and the event page are where you check your next match, as Rule 18.E expects anyway. A club that wants a court-side display can run the pickleball live scoreboard with side-out or rally scoring; it counts points and games, not time-outs. Organizers start an event from the pickleball event creator.