Rules Refresh: This Unusual Net Moment in Pickleball Has a Clear Ruling

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

Question: 

A player blows on a ball traveling along the top of the net or balanced on the top of the net.  Is this allowed?

Answer:

This question surfaces every so often, usually after someone sees a clip from a match with Pickleball Hall of Fame member Kyle Yates as the player blowing on a ball.  It’s one of those novelty situations that can occur, but rarely does.

Under the current rules, it is considered legal. There’s no rule that prohibits a player from blowing or fanning air toward the ball when it is resting or teetering on the net. And from a practical standpoint, there’s no reliable way to determine whether the ball falls to one side because of air movement from a player, natural movement, vibration of the net, or simple physics and gravity.

Since the referee or players cannot evaluate intent or prove causation in that moment, the outcome is judged solely on what the ball does in play, not on what someone might claim caused it.

So the ruling remains: play the result. If the ball drops onto the opponent’s side within the rules of play, the rally continues or ends based on where it lands, regardless of any blowing.