The 2025 PPA season kicked off last week with the Zimmer Biomet Masters powered by Invited, an event that brought us several memorable moments and certainly gives us lots to look forward to for the rest of the year.

The year’s first Slam also saw the introduction of some new rules regarding video reviews, paddle challenges, and timeouts.

Let’s get into it.

Video Reviews and Challenges

The biggest news here is that challenges are no longer tied to timeouts in matches that take place on courts with video replay (usually Grandstand and Center Court). ‘

In these contests, each player/team will have only one timeout per game, instead of the traditional two per game.

For best two-out-of-three game matches, each player/team will have three ‘free’ challenges that they can use at any time. This increases to five ‘free’ challenges in best three-out-of-five game matches.

Teams can still issue challenges if they already have used all of their ‘free’ ones. If they lose on that additional challenge, though, they will be issued a technical warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Paddle Challenges

All paddles being used for pro competition still must pass pre-match testing performed by Pickle Pro Labs to confirm that they fall within UPA-A guidelines for pro play.

If, however, a player suspects that their opponent’s paddle exceeds the legal limits of spin and power, they can request that their opponent switch out their paddle. If the challenged player agrees to use a different (but also approved) paddle, no penalties will be enforced and play will continue with the new paddle.

If the opponent refuses to switch out the paddle in question, the challenging player may escalate to an official challenge. In this case, the suspected paddle must be handed over to a UPA official. The player being challenged has the choice between doing this immediately and switching paddles mid-match or finishing the match with the challenged paddle and turning it over directly afterwards.

In either case, the paddle in question will then be sent to Pickle Pro Labs for further testing, and the results of these tests will be announced publicly within one week.

If the paddle is found to be unsuitable for play, both the player and manufacturer will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

If, however, the paddle is found to be compliant after additional testing, the challenging player will be assessed a $1000 fine.

Calling Timeouts

Players must signal when they are taking a timeout.

Walking off the court without clearly indicating to the referees that a timeout is being used will result in a technical warning for Delay of Game.

This rule actually came into effect in late 2024 and quickly made an impact; Ben Johns/Collin Johns were called for that very infraction twice in the men' doubles final of the Virginia Beach Cup and were assessed a point deduction as a result.

Other Notes

• Players are now allowed to cross the plane of the net, even if they don’t hit the ball. The exception to this would be if their whole body crosses the plane of the net and they still don’t hit the ball. Then, it would be a fault.
• Players may receive coaching in between rallies when the ball is dead, as long as it does not impact the flow of the match.