Is a Match Over When Your Partner Can’t Continue? Here’s What the Pickleball Rules Actually Say

By Mark Peifer, USA Pickleball Certified Referee; Past Chairman, USA Pickleball Rules Committee

QUESTION: My partner and I were in a round robin doubles tournament and had already won our first game 15-10. Unfortunately, however, in the second game one of our opponents got injured. We were leading 12-9 when they took a medical timeout.

After the 15-minute medical timeout, they decided to continue the match with only the uninjured player. We did not know this was possible. We thought that once a partner could no longer continue, the match was over and declared a medical retirement, in which case, we should have won 15-9.

The Head Referee came to the court to explain this, but still it confused us. Is this allowed by the rules?

ANSWER: Yes. The rule that drives this situation is Rule 12.F.2. It requires a retirement only when the team cannot continue or the team chooses to stop playing. In the Rulebook, “player/team” is simply shorthand for “singles player or doubles team,” so the decision belongs to the team as a whole, not to each individual partner.

While a doubles team must have both players present and ready when the match begins (Rule 13.H.4), nothing in the rules prevents the match from continuing later with only one partner able to play. Other sports handle this the same way. If one player is out, the team can keep going as long as someone is still able and willing to compete.

Aside from potential concussion situations, whether an injured player continues is entirely up to that player. If they choose not to return, the remaining partner can still play alone. The scoring simply shifts to match the new reality. Any time the injured player would have served, it’s a fault. Any time the injured player would have received serve, also a fault. The healthy partner can only serve or receive in their regular rotation. In practice, it becomes one player defending the entire court against two opponents.

There’s also no rule dictating where the injured player has to be during the remainder of the match. Once they’ve met the requirement of being present for the start, they can stand or sit wherever they want, on or off the playing surface, on their side of the net.

So, the ruling you were given was correct, even though it feels unusual. The match doesn’t end automatically unless the team decides it cannot continue.