What changed in the 2026 USA Pickleball rulebook
Short answer: USA Pickleball's 2026 Rulebook Change Document, published 17 December 2025 and edited 30 January 2026, lists every new or revised rule with the reason. Items include a rewritten double hit rule, spectators not being consulted on calls, and new adaptive and wheelchair rules.
The change document is a guide, and USA Pickleball says it is not a substitute for the rulebook itself.
Selected changes
- Double hit. The ball may be hit more than once, but the stroke must be continuous and in a single direction by one player. A player and partner both hitting the ball is a fault. A rare triple hit is treated the same as a double hit.
- Serve placement. The out-of-bounds serve fault now sits under serve placement (rule 7.E.1).
- Volley serve. The document lists an entry on a "flat serve" without an upward arc, with rule 7.C setting the paddle-arc, paddle-head and waist-height requirements.
- Spectators. Spectators shall not be consulted on calls. In a non-officiated match, players may summon the head referee or tournament director if an opponent or partner uses spectators for calls.
- Pre-match briefing. Referees must point out rule modifications and hinders such as court abnormalities.
- Adaptive play. New rule sections cover wheelchair-specific faults, a wheelchair as an extension of the body, and adaptive standing play.
- Other entries. Round-robin tiebreakers and withdrawals, time-outs, wrong score called, and penalty and ejection rules.
Using it
Each entry lists the 2025 rule, the 2026 rule and a reason. USA Pickleball also invites members to take part in the 2027 rules change process described in the document. See our wheelchair rules explainer for one of the new sections.
Sources
Sources checked 14 Oct 2026. Header photo: Five yellow-green pickleballs on a wooden surface, by E is for Ian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
