The crowd and broadcasters were stunned by what they saw, and the clip quickly spread online. While some praised Oncins for his creativity, others criticized the moment, calling it unsportsmanlike and overly unserious in a professional setting.

A few weeks later at PPA Sacramento, Oncins again blew a ball over the net and was issued a technical warning by PPA head referee Don Stanley for unsportsmanlike conduct. The incident raised the question of whether blowing the ball over the net in pro play is legal or within the spirit of fair competition.

Interestingly, Oncins himself later sided with Stanley’s assessment.

“I honestly think it shouldn’t be a thing. I don’t think you should be able to blow a ball over the net and reset the point like that. You’re supposed to lose the point, and then if you blow it over, you’re back in it,” he said. “I honestly just did it on instinct. I usually do it during exhibitions and practice, but never in the match. In Asia, that was the first time I’ve done that in a match. I just hit the ball up, I saw it was still on my side, and my first instinct was to make the ball go over and then it worked really well.”

However, Frazier vehemently disagrees. 

“I think it should absolutely be part of pickleball,” he insisted. “I think it adds another element and layer to the game, something else that you can strategize with.”

Even during a match at PPA Atlanta, Oncins and Frazier found themselves tempted to try blowing a shot over the net again.

“During our match, in the first game, it hit the net and Dylan hit it up,” recalled Oncins. “I started laughing a little bit because it was like I should have blown it over a little bit.”

Oncins and Frazier later posted a lighthearted video on Instagram showing the two jokingly practicing how to blow the ball over the net, following the unexpected success of Oncins’ earlier moment in Asia.

“I got Dylan dialed in,” said Oncins.

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