Pickleball Technical Fouls

Like many sports, pickleball has a category of technical fouls. If the referee assesses that there has indeed been a rule or behavioral violation, a point is removed from the score of the offending team or added to the score of the opposing side.

What Are Technical Fouls in Pickleball?

A technical foul punishes players for degrading the quality of the game and playing unfairly or dangerously. In the official pickleball rulebook, there are seven instances of technical fouls and these actions or behaviors result in a technical foul without a warning being issued beforehand.

List of Technical Fouls

Here are the seven technical fouls in pickleball:

1. Aggressively or recklessly throwing one’s paddle in frustration or anger with utter disregard for the consequences
2. Using what the referee deems as extremely objectionable language or profanity for any reason
3. Making a threat or challenge to any person on the court
4. A referee’s interpretation of a rule is incorrectly challenged when no time-out is available
5. A player or team conducts what the referee considers extremely unsportsmanlike behavior
6. Requesting a medical time-out without a valid medical reason, and no time-outs are remaining
7. A player deliberately throws or hits a ball that is not in play in a manner that shows a negligent disregard for the consequences. To be considered a technical foul, the ball must inadvertently strike a person.

Warnings

Before a technical foul is called, a referee is capable of issuing a single verbal or technical warning to a player or team. A warning can be given for the following actions or behaviors: objectionable language targeted at another person on the court, profanity for any reason, aggressive arguing, ball abuse, unnecessary disruption of play time, repeatedly appealing line calls, inappropriate coaching, requesting a medical time out without a valid medical condition, and any conduct perceived by the referee to be considered minor unsportsmanlike behavior.

Result of a Technical Foul

Unlike many sports, a single technical foul in pickleball does not result in a loss of rally or point awarded. After a second technical foul is given to the same player or team during a single match, a technical foul is awarded. One point is thus removed from the score of the offending team. If the case that the score of the offending team is zero, a point is added to the score of the opposing side. Though verbal warnings, technical warnings, and technical fouls may be assessed at any time, any effects are not applied until the rally has ended.