I know one of the most frustrating things when playing pickleball for many people are line calls. This in part is because you don’t have control of the call even though you may have a better view of the call then your opponent. With that being said, there’s also a misunderstanding of what constitutes a ball being called in or out.
If you were playing and saw this, what would you call it?
Many people would call that ball IN.
In fact, the ball is really OUT. Look at the same situation from a different angle.
Unlike tennis balls which compress and distort quite a bit, pickleballs only compress a little, so it’s actually easier to call.
Now, let’s look at a ball that is IN.
Notice that almost 1/2 of the ball is covering the line. Let’s look at it from a different angle.
and one more
Now, keep in mind that when you have photos in front of you, this is an easy call to make. If on the other hand, you are in a match and must make a split-second decision, this becomes much more difficult and there’s a chance that the call won’t go the way you saw it.
Bottom line is to do your best when making line calls. Whether or not you incorporate this knowledge when making line calls is up to you. I simply wanted to give everyone some insight into what the fast-paced game of pickleball looks like when stopped and analyzed.
These calls are hard to call for sure. Also I m a little confused when someone says “yes it did hit the line, but not on the “correct side” of the line (during serve)”. I read the rule as : If it hits the line it hit the line and it does not matter which side of the line it hits , if it hits the line it is good. (during serve and not the kitchen line)