Don’t you think pickleball is the most unique racquet sport? Not just of its play style but the overall pickleball rules are very special. Same as that, you may have also heard the strange call ‘let’ while watching the game.
‘Let serve’ is a serve related rule which is very less known to pickleball players, especially the new generation. It’s growing very fast around the world. That’s why the rules are getting modified on daily basis and gain new changes among rules and play style. For this official pickleball board eliminated the Let serve rule.
You’ll find most of the rules very straightforward in pickleball. But still, you find some of them ambiguous for which you need a complete guide to grasp them well. Let serve is one of them that I’m going to expand on here.
What Is A Let In Pickleball? (Step By Step Guide)
While making a serve in pickleball, beyond making any other fault. Such as making the wrong serving angle, hitting the ball in the kitchen area, or service foot fault.
‘Let Serve’ is like you hit the ball on the net while serving and it lands on the right service place on your opponent player’s courtside.
However, if a ball touches the non-volley zone, it’d be considered fault instead of ‘Let Serve’.
In simple words, some professional claims, mean ‘Let’s play again that’. However, there’s no confirmation about it at all.
Remember that when a referee or a player commits it let serve then it’ll be a replay for the service to make the service again.
Moreover, it can’t be good service at all that’s why you’ll have to serve again. You may also want to learn Who Serves First In Pickleball?
How Do You Play A Let In Pickleball?
Making let serve was related to serving part of pickleball. To call it ‘Let Serve’, the ball must touch the net and go to the right criteria.
I mean beyond the non-volley zone on your opponent player’s side. If it happened like that, a server is getting a chance to serve again.
Why Did Pickleball Officials Remove “Let Serve Rule”?
Because of several reasons, pickleball officials claimed to omit the ‘let’ rule from the game. Hence ‘Let Serve’ rule was terminated from pickleball sport forever last year mean January 2021 by USA Pickleball Association.
Some of the common reasons behind the ban on the Let rule are:
1. Waste Of Time
Most of the professionals considered it just a waste of time for players. For example, players would make let serve as much as possible if there’s no count limit for it.
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2. Rule Was Confusing
It can also bring confusion between players and referees as well. Like a server may consider the server to be let while the other doesn’t know about it.
And instead of joy, it was making the sport more conflictive.
3. Tough To Understand
Lastly, I personally love pickleball of having too much fun as compared to other sports. And it’s just because of having plain rules and gameplay methods.
And this rule was utterly useless and puzzling as well for most of the players. Find out 4 Common Pickleball Injuries That You Should Know.
These are some of the important and very common factors behind the deletion of these rules. Moreover, you may find many more related to let serve which may also affect the game negatively.
How Many Let Serves Are Allowed In Pickleball?
In a recent discussion, I once mentioned a cause that eliminating this rule was also because of no limit for making let serve.
For example, a player could call as many let as possible until he makes the right serve.
Have you ever watched a tennis game? if not you should do it once to understand it.
Like it’s also available in tennis games and the same as it, and a player can call let until he serves correctly.
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Conclusion
As we all know pickleball rules and pieces of equipment such as paddle and court are originally from other racquet sports. Same as that, the rule is related to tennis. And it’s still available in ping pong and tennis.
However, it was removed from pickleball in 2021 by USA Pickleball Association. Just for the purpose to make pickleball easier and simple for players. As you know it really sounds rude and confusing as well.
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FAQs
Q1. Who can call a let in pickleball?
Generally, when a let serve happens, both players and the referee can call for it. However, if any player stops playing after the call let serve, it’ll consider a fault according to rule 7.
Q2. Is there a let rule in pickleball?
Yes, it was available in pickleball but no more after January 2021. Actually, it was confusing and time-wasting as well for players. That’s why the pickleball official committee considered removing it.
Q3. How many let serves are allowed in pickleball?
In pickleball, each server is allowed one let serve per point. If the ball hits the net and lands in the proper service court, it is considered a let serve, and the server gets another opportunity to serve.
Q4. Is there a let serve in pickleball 2023?
Yes, the let serve rule remains unchanged in pickleball as of 2023. If the server’s serve hits the net and lands in the proper service court, it is considered a let serve, and the server gets another chance to serve.
Q5. What does “5” mean in pickleball?
In pickleball, the number “5” typically refers to the non-volley zone, also known as the kitchen. The kitchen is a seven-foot area on either side of the net where players are not allowed to volley the ball. It helps promote a fair and strategic game by preventing players from dominating the net.