Tennis is an incredible sport that people of all ages can play. New tennis players to the sport may find it a daunting game that requires specific tennis rules for just about everything.
That's only partially true; however - there are indeed many different tennis rules, but they're not as complicated as some poorly-written professional tennis rule books would have you believe.
Many factors go into understanding the official tennis rules, how to play tennis, and tennis scoring in tennis. Once you understand the basic rules of tennis, you'll be able to enjoy playing tennis with your friends and family alike!
A tennis racket, comfortable shoes, and a tennis ball are required for playing tennis. Fresh balls are preferred for competitive matches, while softer practice balls are preferred for teaching or when children are involved.
Your tennis racket head and grip should be the appropriate size and weight for your skill level so that you can easily wield it. Your shoes should provide enough lateral support to keep your ankles from rolling during side-to-side movements.
Running shoes and shoes with black soles are not recommended as they don't provide enough support and leave marks on the court, respectively.
Wearing fabric wristbands and headbands are also suggested as they can keep sweat out of your eyes and off your overgrip.
Some tennis clubs have a dress code that must be followed, though!
The majority of tennis in the United States is played on a hard tennis court. These are made of asphalt or concrete and are considered relatively fast surfaces with good ball bounce.
Playing tennis on a clay (or soft) tennis court can be more challenging due to the trickier bounces, but the softer surface is more forgiving as a tennis player lunges, slips, and slides across it.
While tennis was initially played on a grass tennis court, they are difficult to maintain and find these days.
A baseline is the lengthwise boundary of a court.
Among its functions are:
The doubles line is only relevant during doubles matches. It indicates the width of the court during a doubles match. It makes no difference during singles matches.
In a singles match, this specifies the width of the court. Shots that bounce outside of the lines of the singles court are considered out, and the player loses a point.
The sole purpose of this centerline is to indicate where the player who is serving must stand before the serve.
A server will begin serving a game on the right side of the center mark and will alternate between left and right at each subsequent point.
The right and left sides of the court are divided by the service line, which is aligned with the center mark.
Like the center mark and the service line, it has no significance other than when a player serves.
Depending on the server’s score, the player must serve to the right or left of this line.
If the player misses the target, the serve is considered a miss.
When combined with the center service line, the service line forms the service box.
The service line denotes the lengthwise boundary of the area in which a player's serve must land.
A serve is considered a miss if it lands beyond the service line.
IMAGE OF A COURT WITH THE LINES ABOVE LABELED
The center service line creates two equal-sized boxes called left and right service boxes.
The doubles alley is the space between the singles and doubles sideline. Only applicable for doubles matches.
This is the area between the service line and the baseline, and it is the largest box on the court.
IMAGE OF A COURT WITH THE LINES ABOVE LABELED
A singles match consists of two players lining up on opposite sides of the net. Flipping a coin or racket spin are both referred to as the toss.
When playing tennis, one player begins as the server, while the other starts as the receiver.
A tennis match starts with each player on a different side of the net based on the coin toss results. Toss winners may choose the first serve and side of the court.
Remember, it's the player who serves the last game in the set before the tiebreaker who serves the first game in the new set after the tiebreaker.
The server begins the game by hitting the ball over the net into the service court on the opposing team's side. The server must hit the ball from a stationary position. Both feet must be between the center mark and the singles sideline, behind the baseline.
The ball is thrown into the air and struck with the racket before it hits the ground to serve. The ball must pass over the net without bouncing and end up in the service court (diagonally opposite side of the court from the server is the correct service box). It's still a good serve if the ball lands on a line.
If the first serve is not favorable, the server is given a second chance. The server loses a point if that serve is not executed correctly.
If the ball hits the net or top of the net and falls into the appropriate side of the court in the service box on the opponent's court, a "let" is called, and the server gets another chance to serve the ball again. A server can have an unlimited number of lets. The server keeps serving in the same court until a good serve is made in the correct court or the server receives two faults.
Following the first fault, the server must serve again from behind the same half of the court. The second attempt is called the second serve. After the second fault, the server loses a point and moves to the opposite side for the next serve.
The receiver can stand anywhere on their side of the net, but the ball must hit the ground on the serve before it can be returned.
In singles matches, at the end of each game, the receiver gets appointed as the server, and the server gets appointed as the receiver. They continue to play tennis and alternate in this manner after each game until the match is over and a player wins.
In doubles tennis rules, it is essential to note the players on each team alternate serving and receiving for every game, with each player getting a chance to serve. The second serve is still applicable for doubles tennis rules.
Tennis rules dictate players only switch sides at the end of a set for odd games. An odd game is if the total number of games in the set is an odd number.
If the number is even, they wait until after the first game of the new set to switch sides.
These tennis rules must be followed by all players for the game to be fair.
Players switch sides to ensure they have equal exposure to the weather conditions when one side of the court has more wind or is facing the sun.
Tennis players are allowed to sit down and take a timed break before switching sides, with the exception of the first changeover of each set.
During the first changeover of the set, players are not permitted to sit down. They may, however, drink a sip of water or quickly grab something from their bag.
When a set ends, the players are given a set break. They are permitted to sit in their chairs and even use the restroom if necessary.
Only if the final set has an odd-numbered game will they switch sides.
After sitting, the players would return to the same side if the game sum was equal.
In tennis, the time limit rule states that players have 25 seconds between the end of one point and the start of the next point. In addition to the 25-second serve clocks, the US Open will have clocks that track the seven minutes that pass between the time competitors walk onto a court and the start of play after the warmup.
Some players used to take excessively long breaks between points while serving, which the time limit rule could eliminate. By examining time intervals between 2135 points at the Men's single tournament, it was discovered that the percentage of rule violations has dwindled by 26.3 percent.
When a player exceeds the 25-second limit for the first time, they receive a warning.
Following that, if the player takes more than 25 seconds to begin a point, they automatically lose a serve.
Each tennis match is divided into sets and games. In women's tennis, you must win at least two sets out of three, and in men's tennis, you must win three sets out of five. The first tennis player to reach six games in the set will win the set. Example scores are 6 – 4, 6 – 3. If the first set ends 6-6, the game will go to a tie break where the players play first to seven points. Players must win by two games without limits in the final set, as they do not have a tie break. Tie break sets are used instead of third sets.
A set consists of six games, and a match consists of two or three games. A tennis match is a four-point game in which a two-point lead is required to win. These four points are love (zero), 15, 30, 40, and game. If the score is tied at 40, the game is extended until one player wins by a two-point margin.
Each game begins at 0-0, or "love," and progresses to 15, 30, and 40 points for each point scored.
For instance, if both players win one point in the game, the score is 15-15, or “15-all.”
Only one player serves per game, and they always begin on the right side of the center court service line, alternating sides after every point.
The server’s score is always announced first (so if the server wins the first point of the game and the following point, the score is 30-love).
If each player scores enough points to bring the score to 40-40 (also known as a deuce or 40-all), the game moves into the "ad phase."
Because two points must decide every game, one player must score two consecutive points, serving first into the ad court (left side) and then into the deuce court (right side).
The score changes to advantage-in if the server wins the first point following the deuce (“ad-in”).
If the server wins the next point, the game is over; however, if the server loses the point, the game score is reset to deuce, and the server must try to win two consecutive points again.
If the server loses the first point after deuce, the score becomes advantage-out (“ad-out”), and they must then win the following three points in a row—the first point returns the score to deuce, and two more points are required to win the game.
If you and your opponent choose to play that way, 40-40/deuce becomes the game point, and the first person to win the next point wins the game.
Learn the rules of tennis and kick your game up a notch with this comprehensive tennis guide. Simply follow along, and you'll be able to label a tennis court diagram and improve your tennis skills like a pro!
Be sure your ball only hits the net in a let and use the serve time limit as a tactical advantage when you are exhausted by challenging rallies!
