← Grumpy Pickleballer/ Line Calls

🥒 Line Calls

In is the default. Out takes certainty. It's only a point.

If you think it was out, it was in.

If you're not sure, it's in

If you aren't sure a ball is out, it's in. If you think it was out, it was in. In is the default, unless you're sure it's out. No discussion.

If you and your partner can't agree, it was in.

Call it the best you can

It's only a point. Call it the best you can, given that you were probably chasing the ball and it was moving fast.

Who has time to look down at the line and process where it landed when you're trying not to hit the fence, chasing a lob that sailed over your partner's head, after looking into the sun just long enough that the only thing you can still see is the ball?

Why I call it out

If I hit the ball back over the net and then call it out, it's because my brain is old and slow, not because I want an advantage. If I can hit it, why would I call it out if it was in? I just want to play. But out is out.

Sure, I make mistakes, just like everyone else. We're playing for fun, for exercise, for the camaraderie, and because we love this ducking game.

Don't play line judge from 29 or 44 feet away

The other side's lines are theirs to call. Don't play line judge from your kitchen line (29 feet from their baseline) or your own baseline (44 feet). Just move on to the next point.

Nobody argues an in call

No one will ever argue that a ball was in. Plenty of people will argue an out call they felt was in, even when nobody could see the line because the net, your partner, or a leaf was in the way.

The rulebook agrees. You call the lines on your side of the net. Your opponent gets the benefit of the doubt: a ball you can't call out is in, and you can't ask for a replay because you didn't see it. If you and your partner disagree, it's in.

The calls themselves, Out and Bounce included, are on Talk to Your Partner.

Not a rulebook, but the rulebook happens to agree with me on this one. Not affiliated with doyouevendinkbro.com. I've spoken to him about it, but he insists we're partners. We have never been seen in the same room.