Tennis is a popular sport worldwide. The United States Tennis Association, or USTA, governs tennis in the United States. You can play tennis in a single's format, with individual players, or as doubles tennis, in which paired teams compete against each other. A tennis player must use an approved tennis racket.
Tennis Court
A tennis court is 78 feet long and 36 feet wide for a doubles tennis match. For singles tennis, the court is 9 feet narrower; lines on each side of the court show the dimensions for singles or doubles tennis play. A tennis net that is 3.5 feet high divides the length of the tennis court. There are two service boxes painted on either side of the tennis net; each service box is 21 feet out from the net and 13.5 feet wide. The two service boxes cover the width between the singles sidelines.
Scoring
Tennis scoring is unusual. A score of zero is called love. The first point is 15, the second point is 30, and the third point is 40. If a player scores the fourth point with the opponent on 30 or less, he wins the game. If both sides have 40, it is called deuce. The next point will be advantage, and a player must win another point to win. For example, if player A has advantage but player B wins the point, then the score returns to deuce. To win a set, a tennis player must be the first to win six games; a player must win by two clear games. If the score reaches 6-all, a tie breaker decides the set. A tennis match is either best three of five sets, or best two of three sets. Sometimes a youth tennis match has a one-set-only scoring system.
Service
A player serves from the base line, switching sides after each point. The serving player must throw the ball up and serve in an overhead technique. To be a legal serve, the ball must clear the tennis net and land in the service box diagonally opposite. Balls on the white line are considered in play. The foot of the serving player must be behind the base line until after the ball is served over the tennis net. It is a service fault if the ball hits the net or lands out of the service box. If the foot of the serving player is on or over the base line, that also is a service fault. A double fault awards the point to the receiving player.
Rally
If the returning player hits the ball back over the tennis net, then a rally continues until one player hits the ball into the net or out of the play. If player A cannot return the service or the shot, that results in a point for player B.
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