Pickleball is a paddle sport with a unique name that borrows elements from ping pong, tennis and badminton. The game was invented in 1965 by a U.S. congressman, who named the newly minted game after his dog Pickles, reports the Florida-based newspaper TheLedger.com. Played on a small court like badminton, you and an opponent bat a pickleball---a tennis-sized plastic ball with holes in it---back and forth, similar to play in both table tennis and traditional tennis. The USA Pickleball Association, abbreviated as USAPA, is the governing body for the sport. Serious pickleball players must adhere to specific rules regarding timeouts, including knowing when to call one, how many you are allowed in each game and the duration of each timeout.
Number of Timeouts Allowed
According to USAPA rules, each pickleball team---or each player in singles games---is allowed two or three timeouts during a game, depending on the scoring. Players or teams competing in an 11-point or 15-point match are each allowed two timeouts. Three timeouts each are allowed for a 21-point game. This regular type of timeout is called a "normal timeout" and can be called whenever the ball is not in active play. You cannot call a normal timeout once the server has begun to serve the ball; you must wait until the play is completed.
Duration of Timeouts
The duration of each normal timeout is one minute. Timeouts between games and to respond to equipment issues are extended to two minutes. Injury timeouts may last as long as 15 minutes, if needed, according to USAPA rules.
Injury Timeouts
Each player is awarded one injury timeout per game, but an actual injury must have taken place during play to be considered a legitimate injury timeout. The injury timeout can extend to 15 minutes, but the break cannot be broken up into several smaller periods of time; the extended timeout must be continuous.
Equipment Timeouts
The referee of a pickleball game can call an equipment timeout to attend to wardrobe, net, paddle or ball malfunctions that may occur. The general rule is that each individual player is required to use his personal timeouts to fix his own equipment, but if all players have used up their breaks, the referee may call a special equipment timeout.
Placement of Paddles
During a timeout of any kind, each player is expected to place his paddle on the court at his playing position. The pickleball rests under the paddle of the current server.
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