The International Tennis Federation creates the official rules for modern tennis. The United States Tennis Association uses these same rules and also promotes a set of unofficial regulations that dictate on-court behavior. The USTA's code of conduct covers issues such as shaking hands over the net at the end of a game and flipping a coin before the match to determine who serves first. Learning both sets of rules will ensure that your matches run smoothly.
Prior to the Match
Before the match begins, warm up your opponent. While this isn't an official ITF regulation, the USTA includes providing a five-minute warm-up for your opponent in its list of unofficial rules. If no ballpersons are available, the warm-up can last 10 minutes.
Scoring
A player scores a point when her opponent hits a ball out of bounds or fails to return a shot. As long as a ball touches the line, it is considered in bounds. The ball cannot bounce more than once on a player's side of the court before she returns it, and it cannot touch the player. If it does, that player loses the point.
When competing with no umpires to officiate, players make the calls for their side of the net. According to "The Code" from the USTA, players should give their opponents the benefit of the doubt regarding their line calls.
Keeping Score
Scoring in tennis consists of winning games, points and sets.
To win a game, you must win four points, by a margin of two points. These points have specific names: "love," for zero points; 15, for the first point; 30, for the second point and 40 for the third point. The next point wins the game.
If both players earn 40 points, they reach "deuce." A player must win two more points to win the game. When a player wins a single point after deuce, they have the "advantage." Winning the next point gives them the game.
In non-officiated matches, the server announces the game score prior to the first point in the game and should announce the point score before each point, according to the USTA's code of conduct.
To win a set, a player must win six games and have a margin of at least two games more than his opponent.
Serving
The server stands behind the baseline, first between the center mark and the sideline on the right side of the court. After the first point of a game, the server alternates serving from left and right sides of the court until someone wins the game. When serving, the player hits the ball diagonally into the service box--the box directly in front of the net on the opponent's court. The official ITF rules allow 20 seconds between points; a player who takes longer may receive a delay-of-game violation.
A "fault" occurs when the first serve lands in the net or out of bounds; touches a net post, singles stick or other permanent fixture; or hits the net and bounces in the incorrect service box. If the ball hits the net but bounces into the correct service box, it's a "let." In the case of a fault, the player has a second serve. In the case of a let, the player gets to redo the serve. If the player faults on a second serve, she loses the point on a "double-fault."
The player's feet cannot touch the baseline, sideline or center mark--this is a foot fault.
Changing Ends
Players switch sides of the court at the end of every odd game of a set and at the end of a set if the total number of games is odd. If the total amount of games played is even, players change after the first game of the following set.
Tiebreaks
A tiebreaker begins when both players are even at six games in a set. Unlike regular sets, scoring in a tiebreaker is numerical. The first competitor to reach seven points with at least a two-point margin over her opponent wins the tiebreaker and the set.
The first person to serve in a tiebreaker is the person who received during the last game of the regular set. She serves the first point, from the right side of the court. Her opponent serves the next two points, from the left side of the court and all the subsequent serves start from the left side. From that point, each player serves twice until someone wins.
The person who received first in the tiebreaker serves first in the following set.
Players change sides every six points in a tiebreaker, and play is continuous.
Member Comments