Post-Match Penalties? What You Need to Know About the 2025 Pickleball Rule

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

QUESTION: I was playing in a recent tournament, and when my partner and I arrived on the court, the referee informed us that we had been awarded a point and would start the game with a score of one (1). The reason given was that our opponent had received a technical foul after their previous match. Can you explain this and how it occurs? We declined the point but were told we could not.  

ANSWER: This is a new rule for 2025.  Certain player behaviors can lead to a verbal warning, technical warning, or technical foul if such behavior occurs during the match. However, until this year, if the same exact behaviors occurred after a match, there were no penalties. The new rule for 2025 changed that. Please see Rule 13.G.4. Now, players can receive penalties even after the match is over. Since the current match has concluded, those penalties will carry over to the next match. 

So, what likely happened is that your opponent did something after their previous match concluded that the referee believed required the attention of the Head Referee/Tournament Director. In that case, the match referee would reach out to the Head Referee, who would consult with the Tournament Director to decide what penalty would be appropriate. That penalty, if any, would be communicated to the referee for the next match and enforced. 

The reason this rule was approved is to curb inappropriate post-match behavior.