Tennis has complex scoring and a long and involved list of rules. However, you do not need to know all the fine details to understand how to get started playing the game. Most of the rules relate to the ball's placement within the lines of the court and how many times it is allowed to bounce. Once you learn those basics, you can get into the more complex rules as they come up on the court.
Scoring
A game starts at a score of 0 to 0, or love-love. One player servers for an entire game. As you score successive points, your score becomes 15, then 30, then 40. You win a game when your score is 40 and you win the next point, but only if your opponent's score is less than 40. If the score is 40 to 40--also known as deuce--you must win two successive points to win the game. If you win one, then lose the next, the score returns to deuce and the game will continue until one player can win two successive points.
A set consists of at least six games. You win the set when you win six games, but you must have a two-game margin on your opponent. If the game score is six to five, for instance, you must win one more game to win the set. A match usually consists of best-of-three or best-of-five sets.
Serving
In tennis, you serve all the points for one game. When that game is over, your opponent serves the next game.
You serve the first point of a game from your deuce court--the right side of the court. You must stand behind the baseline, toss the ball into the air and strike it before it lands. The ball must go over the net without striking anything and land in the service box positioned diagonally from you. If the ball lands anywhere but in that box, the serve is a fault. When you serve two faults, a double-fault is called and you lose the point.
If a served ball strikes the top of the net and lands in the correct service box, the ball is called a let and you get another chance without a fault being called against you. If during your service motion your foot touches or crosses the baseline, a foot-fault is called. You serve the second point from the ad-court--the left side of the court. You must alternate serving from the deuce and ad court each new point.
Playing the Ball
When receiving, you must allow the ball to bounce in the service box, but must strike it before it bounces twice. The struck ball must land on the server's side within the confines of the baseline and inner lines of the doubles alleys for a singles match or the outer lines of the doubles alleys for a doubles match. The ball is considered in play if it lands on the line.
Play continues with each player striking the ball back to the other player's side. A point is awarded to you when your opponent hits a ball that lands outside the boundaries of the court or into the net. A ball that strikes the top of the net then lands in play is considered a good shot.
Players must change sides on the court after each odd game of the set--after games one, three, five, seven, etc.
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