Understanding interference

The striker must make every effort to give the opponent a clear path to the ball. The opponent must also make every effort to get to the ball. The following must be practiced to avoid interference:

• A striker must make every effort to provide his opponent with unobstructed and direct access to the ball
• The striker must give a fair view of the ball to his opponent both before and after the ball is hit
• Last, the opponent must give the striker freedom to hit the ball directly to all of the front wall

If interference is called, the play is a let, or a stroke. A stroke is a point awarded to the obstructed player. A 'No let' is given in the following situations:

• The opponent would not have made a good return
• The opponent did not make sufficient effort to get to and play the ball
• If the opponent created his own interference
• If the opponent ignored the interference and played on

A let is always given if one player stops from hitting the ball due to a reasonable fear of striking their opponent with either the ball or the racquet. The let is allowed even if no interference actually occurred.

The referee will award a stroke to a striker if the opponent does not make every effort to get out of the way and the striker would have made a good return. A stroke is also awarded if the player would have made a winning return, even if the opponent makes every effort to avoid interfering. Last, the referee may also award a stroke to a striker if their opponent makes unnecessary physical contact or has an excessive racquet swing.

In addition to previous mentions of lets, rallies are replayed when:

• The striker does not hit the ball in a manner to ensure the safety of his opponent
• A player is distracted by an occurrence on or off the court
• The receiver is not ready for the serve and doesn.t attempt to return it
• The ball breaks during play
• Court conditions affect play

A player may appeal a decision that affects the rally by asking " Let, please ". The referee stops play and decides on the appeal. Penalties that the referee may levy include a warning, and a stroke, game, or match awarded to the opponent.