Out serves
Any of the following results in an out:
1) Missed serve. Any attempt to hit the ball that results in a total miss, or in the ball touching any part of the server’s body other than the hitting hand.
2) Non-front serve. Any served ball that does not strike the front wall first.
3) Touched serve. Any served ball on the rebound from the front wall, before bouncing on the floor, that touches the server, or touches the server’s partner when both of the partner’s feet are not touching the floor inside the service box or when the partner is not standing erect with his/her back to the nearer side wall. This includes a serve that is intentionally caught. When the partner is hit by the serve when he/she is not in the legal position, the out serve penalty supersedes the partner’s foot fault.
Interpretation
Even though the foot fault occurs before the out serve, the out serve penalty takes precedence and shall be enforced. Another example: A server foot faults when contacting the ball and the ball does not hit the front wall first. Again, the out serve penalty should be enforced. For this reason, a referee should wait until after the ball is served to call a foot fault. In doubles, the server should not be called out if his/her partner intentionally catches the ball in self defense. However, if the server’s partner catches a served ball that otherwise would not have hit him/her, an out is the proper call.
4) Two consecutive fault serves. (See Rule 4.3.B).
5) Crotch serve. Any serve that hits a crotch in the front wall is an out. All balls hitting the crotch of a wall and the floor shall be considered to have hit the floor first. A serve that rebounds on the fly from the front wall into the crotch of the back wall and the floor is a legal serve, as is a three-wall crotch serve.
6) Out-of-order serve. In doubles, when either partner serves out of order, the points scored by that server since the out of order serving commenced will be subtracted and an out serve will be called. If the second server serves out of order, the out serve will apply to the first server and the second server will resume serving. If the player designated as the first server serves out of order, a sideout will be called.
Interpretation
If the referee is doing a proper job, there should be no out-of-order serves. The referee should keep the players informed as to which player is the server. If the referee sees that a player is about to serve out of order, the referee should immediately stop the player from serving and inform the team as to which player should be the server. If, however, a player does serve out of order, the “out-of-order” rule shall apply.
7) Service delay. The server fails to hit the ball within 10 seconds after the referee has announced the score.