Rules Rule! March 2025

National Rules Commissioner Dan Horner welcomes questions from members and will respond timely along with occasionally featuring a few each month in USAR’s Serving Up the News. Write to Dan at rulescommissioner@usaracquetball.com, and you may see your questions in a future issue of this newsletter! Speaking of question from members, here are a few that arrived in my inbox recently.

Q1.  If the server begins to serve the ball before the receiver is in position to receive it, can the receiver call a timeout?

A1.  There are multiple aspects involved in your question.  First off, is there a referee or not?  Assuming there is, here is how it is supposed to work.  

• Referee calls the score as the server is approaching the Service Zone, no matter who is ready and who is not. 
• Server must first come to a stop prior to serving.  Think about in the Olympics swimming or track & field where they have to come to a complete statue-type position before starting their cadence.  
• Server must "check" their receiver to see if he/she is ready.  The only way the receiver can claim they were not ready is to either:  
• hold the entire head of their racquet over their head or
• turn their entire body facing the back wall.
• If the receiver is ready then the server may serve the ball.
• A timeout can only be called prior to the service motion beginning.

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Q2.  Just this week I had another player/server call a screen incorrectly. I have another question, please clarify.  When the screen is called because the ball is close to the server what is the maximum distance of the ball?  Is it the width or length of the racquet?  One of our players says it’s from the waist not the belly?  I am eagerly awaiting your response.

A2.  There is no minimum stated distance.  The problem with putting a number of inches on it is that a referee can't use a measuring stick when they are outside of the court and in a self-refereed match the player in the backcourt can't measure it either.  Rather it is a subjective call based on if they were negatively impacted by the closeness of the ball to the player hitting the ball.  

Rule 3.9(i) states that "Screen Serve. A served ball that first hits the front wall and on the rebound passes so closely to the server, or server's partner in doubles, that it prevents the receiver from having a clear view of the ball. The receiver is obligated to take up good court position, near center court, to obtain that view. (A referee noting a ball that passes “close” should NOT call it a screen until he is also sure that the opponent’s attempt to return the ball was impaired by that “closeness”.)  Generally, the call should work to the advantage of the offensive player.”

I understand that this is very subjective. The problem with saying 6, 12, or 18 inches is there is no way to measure the distance other than eyeballing it. Instead, the referee needs to make sure that all 3 things occurred before calling a screen serve:

1. The ball passed closely to the server or their partner.

2. The receiver was in proper receiving position

3. The receiver was negatively impacted by the potential screen.

If any of these 3 is not met, then it is not a screen serve.

Screen shots during a rally are determined by the same standards.  Rule 3.14(a)(4) Screen Ball. Any ball rebounding from the front wall so close to the body of the defensive player that it prevents the offensive player from having a clear view of the ball. (A referee noting a ball that passes “close” should NOT call it a screen until he is also sure that the opponent’s attempt to return the ball was impaired by that “closeness”.) A ball that passes between the legs of a player who has just returned the ball is not automatically a screen. It depends on whether the other player is impaired as a result. Generally, the call should work to the advantage of the offensive player. See Rule 3.15

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Q3.  Am I allowed to hit the ball to the back wall (in order to reach the front wall), if I am standing between the receiving line and the front wall?  Or must I be standing between the receiving line and the back wall?  Some players require for safety reasons that you are not allowed to hit the ball backwards if you are standing between the receiving line and the front wall.  However, I do not see that spelled out in the rulebook.

A3.  That is a great question that no one has ever asked me before.  There is no rule that addresses when you can hit the ball backwards in order to try and get it to the front wall.  It is very rare for a player to "need" to hit a ball backwards when they are more than 10 feet from the back wall, but you have every right to do so.  Of course, if you have the time to get behind the ball that will generally end with a better and more offensive return.  

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Q4.  Rule 3.16 states that 1 minute is allowed for timeouts, with remaining timeouts being potentially deducted for taking too much time.  What is the penalty when a player has taken too much time and has no timeouts left?  The assumption would be technical foul, loss of a point.  One point only?  One point per minute over allowed time?
Same question for time between games.  This question occurred to me during the pro finals of a recent IRT tournament, as it was just over 5 minutes between when game 2 ended and game 3 began.  One of the pros should have been on the court a full 3 minutes earlier.  Would that be one technical foul, loss of one point, or 3 and loss of 3 points?

Also, there doesn't seem to be a limit to how many technical fouls can be received before forfeiting the match. Is there?  If they keep taking timeouts they don’t have or stay off the court longer than allowed, could I just keep piling on the technicals until they are at     -100?  Should there be a limit?  The IRT rules have a technical foul limit, but USAR doesn’t seem to.

A4.  The referee may assess a technical foul or warning for delay of game which results in loss of 1 point per Rule 3.16.  Per Rule 3.17, if the player does not resume play immediately, the referee is empowered to forfeit the match in favor of the opponent.  However, they could also choose to give a 2^nd technical foul instead.  The determining factor is, is the player making an effort to obey the referee's instruction to get back on the court or are they belligerently ignoring them?

You are correct that there is no limit of number of technical fouls in a match in USA Racquetball's rulebook.  Remember the IRT uses their own variation of the USA Racquetball’s rulebook.  Please see Section 10 on pages 28-30 for their specific rule's amendments.  They follow USAR's rules unless otherwise specified.

Maybe we should have a limit.  Remember the question is, are they belligerently ignoring the referee's instruction to get back on the court?  If so, that is enough to forfeit the match in favor of the opponent.  However, if the person in question is making an effort to get back on the court, then 1 technical would be sufficient.  They can't "buy" a timeout by "using" a technical foul.  

For example, if a player has already used both of their one-minute timeouts and they say timeout and step off the court and you are the referee, the first thing you should do is say, "that is a technical John Doe, because you are out of timeouts, please return to the court immediately".  If they say okay and simply wipe their face and grab a new glove and immediately head back onto the court, then great, all is good; they lost 1 point, but learned a lesson.  If they proceed to walk away from you or sit down and put their feet up, then you are entitled to say something like, you have to return to the court immediately or the match will be forfeited to your opponent.  They shouldn't be able to finish their non-existent timeout.  So in that example, they would never get to their 2^nd technical foul.  

Rule 3.16 Timeouts

(a) Rest Periods. Each player or team is entitled to two 1-minute timeouts per game. Timeouts may not be called by either side after the service motion (see Rule 3.3) has begun. Calling for a timeout when none remain or after the service motion has begun will result in the assessment of a technical foul for delay of game. If a player takes more than 1-minute for a single timeout, the referee may automatically charge any remaining timeouts, as needed, for any extra time taken. Once all time allowed has expired, a delay of game technical warning or technical foul may be assessed. A player who leaves the court should call a timeout or else advise the referee of the reason for leaving the court. If a player leaves the court without advising the referee, a timeout may be charged to that player. If none remain, the referee may assess a technical warning or technical foul for delay of game; however, the referee may excuse a delay if the player’s reason for leaving was to correct a problem affecting the playability of the court, such as obtaining a towel to dry the court or disposing of some foreign material from the court. See Rule 3.17(a)(6) for guidance on delays.

Rule 3.17 Technical Fouls and Warnings

(a) Technical Fouls. The referee is empowered to deduct one point from a player's or team's score when, in the referee's sole judgment; the player is being overtly and deliberately abusive. A prior warning is not required, but a warning may be enough to correct the behavior (see Rule 3.17(b)). If the player or team against whom the technical foul was assessed does not resume play immediately, the referee is empowered to forfeit the match in favor of the opponent.  Some examples of actions that can result in technical fouls (or warnings) are:

6. Significant or repetitive delays of the same kind warrant the assessment of a Technical Foul (deduction of a point).  However, in many cases, issuing a Technical Warning may be enough to correct most short delaying behaviors without deducting a point. Here are some examples of delays that referees should watch for and seek to eliminate:

(i) Taking too much time to dry the court,

(ii) Excessive questioning of the referee about the rules,

(iii) Exceeding the time allotted for warm-up (see Policy A.8), timeouts, or between games,

(iv) Calling a timeout when none remain or after the service motion begins, or

(v) Taking more than ten seconds to serve or be ready to receive the serve.

(vi) Serving before the score or “second serve” is called.

To view/download the Official Rules of Racquetball, visit

https://www.teamusa.org/usa-racquetball/rules.