The Importance and the Odd Rules about the Kitchen

Players can have all the strategies they want - how to hold a paddle, whether or not to spin the ball, whether or not to play a soft or hard game. But there is no exception to one strategy, and that is the player must get to the kitchen. Not only does this place you at an offensive advantage, but it is the best defensive location on the court.

But the kitchen has some odd rules. Here's the official language about getting in and out of the kitchen:

A fault will be declared if, in the act of volleying the ball, a player or anything the player is wearing or carrying touches the non-volley zone or touches any non-volley line. For example, a fault will be declared if, in the act of volleying the ball, one of the player’s feet touches a non-volley line.

Easy enough - you can swing into and through the NVZ (aka the kitchen), but nothing (foot, paddle, sunglasses, hat, long shoe-lace) can touch any area of the NVZ, including the NVZ line.

But wait! There's more (and this is where it gets interesting)!

A fault will be declared if, in the act of volleying the ball, the player's momentum causes the player or anything the player is wearing or carrying to touch the non-volley zone or touch any non-volley line. It is a fault if the player's momentum causes the player to touch anything that is touching the non-volley zone, including the player’s partner. It is a fault even if the ball is declared dead before the player touches the non- volley zone.

So you hit an awesome smash down the middle, the ball bounces in the court past the other players and out of bounds. You are still teetering at the line and fall in. Dead ball and you win the point, right?

Nope.

There are comments scattered throughout the IFP Rulebook, but it doesn't mention when you can enter the NVZ after a volley and subsequent point/side-out. Below is the best video I found about these quirky kitchen rules, but it would be nice to know the time between a dead ball and allowable entrance into the kitchen. The video is pretty cool - you can see how you can't even celebrate, but your partner can grab you to keep you from going into the kitchen.