In 2024, the pickleball’s governing bodies announced the revision of some important laws of the game. One of these laws is to carry the pickleball with the paddle.
Carrying is the act of playing a shot such that the ball doesn’t bounce off the paddle. Instead, the player catches the ball on the paddle and later swings the paddle such that the ball drags on the paddle’s surface before leaving it. Such an act can either be intentional or unintentional.
Earlier, the laws stated that an unintentional carry was pardonable and there were no penalties for it. However, the revised rule ‘7.L’ has no mention of the the words ‘deliberate’ and ‘unintentional’ from the rule book. This suggests that any form of carrying is now deemed as a fault.
A carry is often confused with a double hit. The latter is differentiated by the distinctly audible double sound that is generated from the paddle’s surface. As long as the double hit occurs in a single swift motion, it is considered a legal shot. However, a deliberate double hit is a fault.
A carry is usually seen in a professional pickleball match when there is a tussle for the point near the kitchen or the non-voley zone. In such circumstances, the chair umpire has to previously be alert of the fast paced rally. However, the new carry rule relieves the umpire of determining whether the shot was intentional or not.
Carrying is thus a type of shot that results in a fault, commencing from the 2024 pickleball season.
