Time Stamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:17 - Calling Out Score 0:33 - Placement 0:47 - Nasty Nelson 1:14 - The Moment The Ball Is Served 1:39 - Where Can You Stand on A Serve 2:45 - Test: Is This Legal? 3:13 - Spinning The Ball 4:56 - Hiding The Ball 5:40 - The Volley Serve 5:58 - Upwards Motion 6:48 - Is the Slice Serve Legal? 9:05- Paddle Head Below Wrist 9:51 - Is Tyson McGuffin's Serve Legal? 10:42 - Serve Below Waist 12:11 - The Drop Serve 14:25 - My Recommendation

And, sorry I forgot to mention - Great video, clear, concise, clarification!!

Thank you for all the clarity with the explanations and demos. As usual, this video is a quality production. 👏👏👏

Fantastic video! so well done! Definitely clarified some of the subtly I was a little foggy on. Thank you!

Very well-made video, thank you!

fantastic content thanks!

Hey Ed, GREAT JOB! Thank you!

Great explanations on this. Thank you

Awesome! Thank you!

Loving the frequent uploads and tips, your channel is going to grow a lot this year!

Wow, this video is super helpful for brushing up on pickleball serving rules! Knowing the ins and outs can really up a game. And hey, from my experience, experimenting with different serves using my Oliver-Sport paddle has been a game-changer.

Great synopsis. Enjoyed the common sense distinctions you made between recreational and tourney play calls.

Thanks Ed, very helpful.

Great video. You took a dry topic and made it interesting. You are funny!

Thank you Ed!

amazing explanation for some of us recreational players 👍👍👍👍 nice job

Thanks Ed, your video really helped to support my slice serve. Great video!!

Thanks Ed for demonstrating the elements of the volley and drop serve. Great video. Happy New Year 🎉🥳

Excellent informative vid.....crazy how many people dont understand the point contact

Thanks for this, especially the clarification on the volleyed spins, although I'm still skeptical with your friend's serve. Her paddle is going upward, yes, but sideways across her body immediately after contact. I hate this serve in rec play. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Playing with several, er, senior citizens and this one guy who could barely walk was doing your friend's serve to my older, slower partner and me (just returning after knee surgery). After 8 of those serves where neither my partner nor I cared to risk our lives to get them I finally had to say something. The *only* person having fun was him. His partner never got to play and neither did we. That's why there's a 2-bounce rule -- to get the game started and at least get some play in. A serve like that, IMO, should not be allowed. Having one good move -- a serve -- does not make someone a good PB player. Purposefully trying to kill play before it gets started seems, to me, unsportsmanlike.

Drop serve info- interesting!

I have been experimenting drop vs volley serves lately. I find as long as I am indoors, drop serve for me allows greater slice serves WITH consistency. I can be super aggressive and accurate off the drop serve as much as a volley serve.

So if I use a drop serve I can slice do nward to I part back or side spin ?

Hey there. I know this was made 3 months ago but quick question- If my forehand is my right side and I am serving on the left, can I hug the middle of the court and go down the middle with the ball on that line? Is there a rule saying my paddle cannot be past the line that runs down the middle of the court (vertically)? I hope this question makes sense!

In a volley serve does the ball need to be released from your hand before the moment of contact? In other words can the ball be hit out of one’s hand?

Thanks for the video Ed. What paddle are you using? Is it oversized?

I need that “ILLEGAL!” sound bite on a button so I can press it during a match. 😂

Nice video. As far as the comment on the gal who spins her serves and it being controversial where she is actually making contact on an upward swing or downward swing. Just know you can physically hit a ball over the net with a downward swing. Golfers swing downward at impact and the loft of the club propels the ball upward and forward. Your video even at slow motion did not have the greatest angle to see if the swing was actually going upwards. I do agree that swing was nearly impossible to call whether descending or ascending.

Is it legal for a server to drop the ball while walking forward and do a drop serve? Is the forward walk considered propelling the ball forward?

on a volley serve, when releasing the ball before paddle cantact. the ball spins a little from leaving the hand, is that legal serve. in the video of the women. she has a small under hand toss- up of the ball. is that legal?

Great video. I do a slice spin serve quite the same as your friend, and have been called a cheat...got some vindication after watching this! Question - is there a rule about ball toss/ release point on a volley serve? Can I drop the ball naturally from any height just like the drop serve as long as I am following the rest of the rules about the paddle position, paddle arc etc.?

Do you use two canon R6’s when you shoot multicam?

Is she tossing the ball in an upward direction before striking the ball?

Hey Ed. I assume tossing the ball very high (to get the ball to bounce high before the moment of contact) on a drop serve is also against the rules?

I love to hit my serve across the top of the service box for winners with a lot of top speen

And what about the net ? Cos I heard it was a "legal" serve but I saw a match on video YT when the serve has been played again after the ball touched the net. Thanks for your answer.

The rule on serving should be just like slow pitch or fast pitch softball. It should be underhand, That way there is no question. A softball pitcher would not be allowed to serve in a sidearm motion. There is great advantage when serving sidearm. That would illiminate any question ate

Is it legal when my feet are in the correct positions ( keeping my feet not to cross back and side lines) but my hand out of the side line?

can we download a copy of the rules from the app store?

THANKS, ED!!!! THIS WAS SUPER HELPFUL!!!! ["SHARED"!!!]

What about breaking head position above wrist on drop server?

amazing video. but i still feel confused about SERVICE SEQUENCE

I agree that the 2024 volley serve rule allows your arm to move in a downward motion as long as when it makes contact with the paddle it is moving in an upward arc.

If I do a prop serve, do I still need to swing my paddle in an upward motion?

Wow! Thanks YT algorithm for randomly suggesting this because truly this is fantastic! So easy to understand this whole breakdown. The graphics and effects to drive the point (no pun intended) for what is legal and illegal. Definitely sharing with my family and friends. Thank you.

While making a volley serve can the ball be “tossed up slightly” before striking the ball? (Ball strike is below waist upward motion)

At about 2.5 minutes. Look at what you called illegal and clarity. The last time I read the Rules it stated that 1 foot had to be behind the baseline indicating that I could have the other foot outside the baseline as long as 1 foot is behind it. Did this rule change?

great video thanks Ed

I bounce the ball on my serve. 8:50 When can my feet touch or go over the line

Ball visibility is the ball while serving it has to be totally released from hand in the air and could be seen by referee and others. Some servers serving the ball without releasing the ball from hand and directly hit the ball and hand connection.

I was told you can not do a drop serve. Is this now permitted and if so revised in 2024?

i really need a detailed video for your volley serve . or is there any videos for lefties too hah

Very good video and the rules do apply for 2024 because all the rules were in effect in 2023! Just saying nothing new for 2024.

Ed, We have some folks that hide the ball in their hand while serving. There is a big debate as to legality of such a serve. I believe the receiver must clearly see the ball dropped from the server. I understand the penalty is a reserve. Can you clear up for us? Thanks for all your good information!

Do the rules not say anything about whether you can toss the ball up on a volley serve? Someone told me that was illegal, but it doesn't seem like it...

Question: does the person receiving the serve have to stand behind the white line at the back of the court until the ball has been struck by the servers paddle? In other words, the receiver of the serve cannot step on to the court until server’s paddle has hit the ball. Hope this made sense. Thank you for all the help, I have learned so much! ❤️🇨🇦

Best serve legality video out there 👍

Appreciate the words of Wisdom

I think you are mistaken about "the highest part of the paddle", because if the paddle is almost horizontal, with the long edges parallel to the court floor, then those long sides will be the highest part of the paddle, or the side that is the highest side. The other side will be closest to the court surface.

What about ball contact in terms of the imaginary centre line. Feet are on the correct side of the line but they drop the ball on the “wrong side” and make contact on the “wrong side” of the centre line. Is that a legal serve?

Wait @2:33 your feet were fine. Are you saying contacting being made over the extension of the line is also illegal? I didn’t read that.

I have a similar serve to your friend, I got called out by a VERY good player last weekend after I aced him. I took a bunch of slow motion videos over the next few days, I'm totally legit in all metrics. Dude had me on tilt the rest of the day and I have zero interest in playing with him anymore ....

In non-officiated matches, the receiver has no authority to call for replays or faults for service motion violations.

If you step ON the imaginary center line or side line at the point of the serve, is it legal? I'm saying that you didn't step past it, but only an inch or so on it.

I would have mentioned that a foot (although not able to "make contact" with the court playing surface) may cross the threshold of the baseline as long as it doesn't make contact with the surface...like Tyson.

You do not have to hit upward to make a ball with slice go over the net. The angle of the racquet with a level swing will send the ball over. This is basic physics. The ball goes where the paddle is pointed - its not based just on the direction of the swing. Interpreting the rule with like this just means that slice serves are legal. I am cool with that - but the rule is designed to eliminate slice serves. That is the whole point of it. Let me put it this way. If you claim that in order for the ball to go over the net - you need to have the racquet going upward on a slice serve does that mean any slice serve struck where the ball is below the net is legal? This means pretty much all slice serves except for some nearly overhead kinds are legal. I don't think that's what they had in mind. All it is going to do is lead to fighting about slice serves. If pickleball wants them legal - they should say so explicitly not hit you with some weird cop out where some slices serves are illegal.

Thanks for the tip

Is it your belly button when your flat footed or on your tip toes. When Tyson serves he's on his toes? Raises his belly 4" or 5".

I toss my volley serve quite high with no spin. Catch it quite low for optimal top spin. Assume it’s legal though not addressed. Works for me.

6:53 - I feel like we need an entire video on this serve! Is there one??

What are the rules on serves hitting the net and either landing in the right area or not.

Are behind the back serves legal

Unless you are playing someone who is 7’ tall, hitting at the waist or below will place the paddle on an upward trajectory to get the ball over the net. The essence of the rule is to remove overhand serves.

Just curious about on the volley serve can you throw the ball up?

I really need to send this video to the 2 old guys bitching about my serve today. I hold the ball low like between my hip and knee. There is no other way for me to hit the ball over the net unless i come upwards and put topspin on it. They kept saying i was going sideways. It doesnt matter as long as im going up which i am when my paddle finishes at head level or higher. Its rec play dont be that guy out there calling all sorts of stuff.

This definitely beats reading the new rules! Thanks for the upload!

Tyson’s serve is frequently illegal according to the paddle angle rule. But the fact that he’s not called on it illustrates that it’s pretty much unenforceable. Furthermore, I don’t know what the supposed benefit is. Ball contact height I understand. Low-to-high swing I get. Precise angle of paddle on impact? Who cares? Only people who want to complain about a serve. As a side-note, I have had people complain about a sideways swing motion on an obviously topspin serve. Quite a bit of confusion about low-to-high where some folks think it implies a strictly vertical swing plane. One last aspect is the serve being diagonal. If the contact point is on the same side of the center line as the receiver, is it really a cross-court serve? (I know the answer is “yes” but the rules don’t explicitly say that is OK).

8:00 ish. Her serve is probably legal as you say but your camera angle makes it difficult to determine conclusively. You really need a view directly along the baseline to clearly see if her paddle is ascending at impact. If people complain, just let it bounce first. You can get just as much or more spin on it and there will be no question.

I have had two different really good players that I respect tell me one of my drop serves is illegal. With feet properly placed inside the imaginary lines, I drop the ball outside the imaginary line. Are they right or, as I believe, wrong!

Is it ok to hit the ball off the server’s hand, not releasing the ball before serving?

“Where is my belly button” (lifts shirt) “I don’t wanna show you that” … after already showed us that 😂

If I stand on the correct side of the centerline, I may still hover OVER the center line with the paddle, making contact with the ball. I believe the video showed that was illegal. Let me know your thoughts.

Your explanation is off because that woman serve is not a slice serve. She is putting topspin and side spin on the ball. Her paddle drops below the level of the ball and continues up. The confusion comes from you saying it’s a slice serve.

I am the one calling these people out... Bad drop serves (with a push). Serves above the waist, paddle edge above the wrist, basically a side arm serve. If you can't get the basics right, they deny foot faults, kitchen faults, etc...

I was destroying this guy with that screwball/sidespin kind of serve and he said it was illegal. Whatever, I stopped using it and still kicked his ass. But I'll have this video handy for next time

Ok, so weird situation that I think is legal. What about you? You serve from left, straddle middle line, where your left foot is on but not past the imaginary extension line of the middle, and not at all touching the baseline. Before the moment of service, you lift your right leg and keep your left down and flamingo serve. Also you dropped the ball in the right box and swung very right. No rules against it, but I haven’t seen anyone do it.

what a great video, lets move to the drop serve ,,ONLY

14:38 - An upward swing is NOT a requirement for a legal drop serve

Let serve not covered. If ball hits net on legal serve but lands in proper area the serve is legal and is therefore played

Actually you can’t slice a ball. Legal serves require the paddle to move from low to high. So no slices. Side spin is allowed as in topspin with side spin. Only side spin isn’t possible with low to high paddle stroke

What about the slight toss up she does? I thought you were no allowed to toss up - just let go of the ball to drop down.

Great video.. for the drop serve .. How about jumping as high in the air and releasing the ball, standing on your tip toes, or a mild springee calf raise..

Can you use that paddle with a hole in it for 2024?

Has the let rule changed from being able to hit the net on the serve and the play continues to have to re-serve. Someone told me recently that now you have to re-serve on a let-serve as of 2024.

You probably should have mentioned the table on page 21 of the rulebook that explains who is allowed to call each kind of serve violation. Receivers cannot call faults because they believe the serve is illegal. They can only call for a replay if spin is imparted or the ball release is not visible.

Tyson's racquet-tip is above the top of his wrist. illegal.

Excellent Review! The Nasty Nelson has it's place when the Non-Receiver Opponent is crowding the T. It works, Sorry Not Sorry ;)

I see videos of people tossing the ball up when they volley serve.. pros included.. wouldn't that be illegal? 🤔

The rules keep changing !!! Hard to follow ...

No tossing the ball upwards on the volley serve, plalm should be facing downwards when releasing the ball for serve; drop or volley.