USA Pickleball: Your first refereed pickleball game

USA Pickleball ref Maddie Toren will take you through the things you should know when you are playing a refereed pickleball event.

Maddie Toren

officials

08/16/2024

August 16, 2024

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USA Pickleball ref Maddie Toren will take you through the things you should know when you are playing a refereed pickleball event, including when you will meet your referee, their responsibilities as an official, and your responsibilities as a player.

Here are some of the systems and processes of referees officiating a match:

  1. You'll meet your referee at the assigned court.

  2. Normally, they will have the score sheet, game balls, and first server bands.

  3. The referee will take you through what's called the “match briefing,” where the ref will confirm the names of the players, bracket match format, and the first servers.

  4. The referee will also give you more information on their responsibilities as an official and your responsibilities as the player.

Here is an example of a match briefing from a referee:

  • “Hi, my name is Maddie. I'll be your referee for this match. It's best 2 out of 3, to 11, win by 2, and if we go to a third game we'll switch ends at 6.”

  • “I'll be calling for any service faults, as well as any short serves and non-volley zone faults. But you will call all the rest — and please make them loud and clear, even if they are obvious. You can appeal any call to me and if I saw it, one way or another I'll make the final call and that call will stand.”

  • “You have two timeouts each per game.”

  • “Any questions?”

Once the referee has taken you through their briefing and checked that paddles are USA Pickleball-approved and no alterations have been made to them, they'll give you time to warm up.

Here are the main differences between a non-officiated and officiated match:

  1. The referee will call the score and all three numbers must be said before you may serve.

  2. If a ball from another court makes its way onto your court, the referee will call “ball on” if they believe it's a safety issue. But if you see a ball that the referee has not called, you're able to call “ball on” which is considered a hinder to your game.

  3. You're able to ask the referee: “Am I good? Am I in the correct position?” and “Am I the correct server or receiver?” You have the ability to ask these questions before the serve is made.

If you would like to learn more details about these rules refer to the official rulebook at USAPickleball.org.


Maddie Toren is a pro pickleball official and the first-ever teen-certified referee. This is Episode 1 of “10 Things That Most Pickleball Players Don't Know But Should.”