We has a feeling there would be new pickleball rules for 2023. With the sports booming popularity and expanding professional footprint, the sports official governing body USA Pickleball has been on top of updating rules as the game grows. Last year, the chainsaw serve was banned, and this year, spin serves are getting the axe.

Now for myself and most of you reading, this doesn’t matter. It takes all of our focus just to land the ball in the court, so leveling it up with some spin is completely out of the question. But for the stars (and any of you aspiring pros that might be reading) it matters. So why exactly did they update the serving rules?

When the chainsaw serve (where players would use the paddle to “rip” the ball and place spin on it) was banned, players strated opting for spin serves. A spin serve is different because it puts spin on the ball with the hand before hitting it with the paddle. If you want to learn how, you can check out the video below.

But now, that move will get you a fault. Why? The rules committee had some interesting reasons for the change.

Safety first

Many recreational courts and even some high-profile tournament venues are converted from tennis courts, with four pickleball courts in the space of one tennis court. The rules committee noted that in some cases, players receiving a spin serve might be pushed so far out of the court that they put themselves in danger of running into walls or fences.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a little more mobility added to the sport. Especially with all the money being invested, why not just make more room around courts? But as you can probably tell, they didn’t ask for my opinion. So instead I’ll rant to you.

level the playing field

The panel said that they didn’t outlaw spin serves in 2022 because they wanted to see how many players would incorporate them into their game. They thought over time, if the serve became widely adopted, players would be able to “read” the serve and respond. But that hasn’t happened, and the panel says that the low adoption rates was a big part of their decision.

pro input

Without really getting into specifics, the committee said they talked to a bunch of pros who urged them to eliminate the spin serve. All they said was that these pros, who used the spin serve to great advantage, advised them to eliminate it because they saw the impact it had on the game.

Sounds a little suspicious to me — I guess I have a hard time believing a player that is benefiting would opt to have it eliminated. But this isn’t a conspiracy theory blog, so I guess we’ll take their word.

Other rule changes

Beyond the spin serve, the most meaningful change in rules for 2023 is that players should not wear clothing that “closely matches the ball color.” The rules panel says this is to promote sportsmanship and prevent distractions during play. With that said, the rule does not apply to footwear. So feel free rock those neon green shoes!