Pickleball Contacts Your Partner: Fault or Not?

By Mark Peifer, USA Pickleball Certified Referee; Past Chairman, USA Pickleball Rules Committee

Question: We were playing this evening and encountered a situation we hadn’t seen before. One of our opponents hit the ball, but on its way over the net, it struck their partner on the arm and still landed in on our side of the net. We played the point out, but afterward realized we probably should have stopped play when the ball made contact with their partner. Should that have resulted in a fault immediately, and should play have stopped at that point?

Answer: The short answer is yes. The relevant rule is Rule 7.H: “A fault occurs when: The ball in play contacts a player or anything the player is wearing or carrying, except the paddle or the player’s paddle hand below the wrist.”

In the scenario you presented, the ball struck their partner on the arm—above the wrist—before crossing the net. That makes it a fault on the striking team. The rally should have ended at that moment, and your team should have won the rally.

Even if you continued the rally unknowingly, the correct application of the rule (if noticed immediately) would have stopped play and awarded the point.