Tennis is a competitive game that is played on a court that is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide. It is divided by a tennis net that is supported by two posts, 3 1/2 feet high, on the outside of the court. The tennis net is 3 feet high in the center of the court. Players serve the ball to put it in play and hit it with forehand, backhand and overhead shots as the game proceeds.
Scoring System
Tennis matches are usually decided in a best-of-3 set format. In order to win a set, a player must win six games and have at least a two-game advantage over his opponent. In order to win a game, a player must win four points and have at least a two-point advantage in each game. However, instead of saying 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2, tennis has its own language after each point. If the player serving wins the first point, he is ahead "15-love." If he wins the second point, it's 30-love; winning the third point makes it 40-love. If the receiver wins the next point the score is 40-15. If each player wins three points, the server would say "deuce" in announcing the score. When the score is deuce, one of the two players has to win consecutive points before the game is over.
The Serve
The ball is put into play in tennis on a serve. A player gets two attempts to hit the ball into the service box from beyond the baseline. The serve is started with an overhead toss of the ball, and the ball must be hit with a downward motion to propel the ball toward the box. If the serve hits the net, or goes beyond or to the side of the service box, it is a "fault" and the server gets a second attempt. Two faults result in a "double fault" and the point is awarded to the receiver. After the serve hits inside the service box, the receiver must hit it before it bounces a second time and send it over the net.
Tennis Rally
After the serve is good and the receiver returns the ball, the players are in the midst of a rally. The play continues until one of the two players cannot return a shot. A player may hit any shot other than the serve on the fly or on a bounce. The ball may hit anywhere in the court of play, including the line, for the shot to be considered good. In a professional match, judges determine whether the shot is in the court of play or not. If a judge makes a ruling that is unfavorable to one player or the other, that player may request a computerized video review that determines whether the shot is good or not.
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