I am a competitive/recreational player who plays in a rec league with other similar players. No one is turning pro and we don’t have facilities for full time Pickleball (we set up nets in school gymnasium several times a week). Limitations being stated, we are still competitive and I try to improve my game. I have run the gamut of serving philosophies and have come full circle to making sure to get the serve in. Probably the player in our group that has the best serve is much like Babe Ruth. He scores off the serve once in a while, but also faults a lot. I tried to improve my speed and top spin, only to fault many times during last night’s games. Finally, I gave up and went back to getting it in and giving my team a chance to win the point. By getting it in, sometimes we went on a 3, 4 or 5 point rally that wouldn’t have happened if faulting. I really don’t see an advantage to pushing it and faulting 2-3 times a game at this level. Am I missing something.
You’re not missing anything—just getting your serve in is usually the smartest move in rec play. Longer rallies beat risky serves that often fault. by strokess
My buddies and I are probably a level above you. (I built my own court on my property 3 years ago. I took lessons from the best player in the state for two years. So take this for what it’s worth.)
I stand about 4 feet back from the baseline to serve and hit with hard heavy topspin. I try to clear the net by about 3 feet to give the topspin “room to work.” My serves tend to land within 3 feet of the opponents’ baseline … almost every time. My strong serve results in around 4 “free points” a game … and 2-3 weak and short returns which give my partner and me an advantage right away.
I am perfectly comfortable missing 2-3 times a game. I get annoyed with myself if I fault 4+ times a game. YMMV
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This is a nuanced situation that a lot of players get wrong. The key distinction is between when the infraction occurred and when it was called.
In pickleball, if a player commits a NVZ violation (kitchen fault), the point ends immediately at the moment of the infraction—not when the referee notices it or calls it. So if you encroached into the kitchen on your volley, that’s a kitchen fault regardless of whether anyone caught it in real-time.
That said, here’s the practical layer: if play continues uninterrupted and the ball goes in or out before anyone raises the issue, most casual play lets it go. In tournament or serious league play, though, you’re looking at a different standard. A sideline monitor or opponent should call it promptly when they see it.
The trickiest scenario is when the encroaching player hits the ball cleanly, it lands in, and then someone calls the kitchen fault. Technically, the point should end at the moment of encroachment—not after the ball landed. The “what happened after” doesn’t matter legally.
My suggestion: establish clear expectations with your opponents before you play, especially in casual settings. In organized play, this is where line judges or refs are essential. If you’re playing without officials, agree that kitchen faults called within a reasonable window (before the next serve, say) count.
What level of play are you dealing with here? That context matters a lot for how to handle disputes.