Modern tennis, originally called lawn tennis, diverged from the ancient game of real tennis in the 1850s when Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber. His invention enabled the creation of the first rubber tennis balls and started the evolution of modern lawn tennis. Of course, modern tennis is played on many surfaces, including grass, concrete, asphalt and clay, but the original outdoor courts were grass only. Regardless of the surface you play tennis on, you are technically playing a game called lawn tennis. You can easily learn the basic rules of lawn tennis to get started playing.
Scoring a Match
A typical tennis match consists of the best of three sets. To win a set, you must win a total of six games while maintaining a two-game margin over your opponent. If a set reaches a score of six games to six with neither you nor your opponent achieving a two-game margin, you can play a tie-break to decide the set. Otherwise, you can can continue to play standard games until one of you achieves a two-game lead to win the set. Tie-breaks are usually played until one player scores seven points, with players alternating serve every two points. You must win a tie-break by a two-point margin.
Scoring a Game
A game starts at a score of zero to zero, or love-love in tennis terminology. The first point you score in a game earns you a score of 15, the second gets you 30, and the third gets you 40. If you have a score of 40 and win the next point, you win the game if your opponent does not also have a score of 40. If she does, you are tied at 40 to 40---also called deuce---and you or your opponent must win two consecutive points to win the game. If you win one point and gain the advantage and your opponent wins the next point, the score returns to deuce.
Service Rules
In tennis, one player serves for an entire game. The other player then serves the next game. You must serve the first point of a game from behind the base line on the right half of the court, called the deuce court. When you serve, you toss the ball into the air and strike it before it lands. The ball must land in service box positioned diagonally across the court from you---the receiver's deuce court. If you miss, a fault is called and you get one more chance. If you miss twice, a double-fault is called and the point goes to your opponent. If during your service motion, your foot touches or crosses the base line or the imaginary extension of the mid-line or sideline of the court, a foot-fault is called. If the ball strikes the top of the net and lands in the correct box, a let is called and you get a another chance at serve. The second point is served from the left side of the court, and the server alternates sides with each new point.
Playing a Point
When your opponent serves to you, you must allow the ball to bounce in the service box and strike it back to your opponent before it bounces a second time. The ball must land within the boundaries of the court on your opponent's side, and she must then strike it back to you before it bounces twice. If you hit the ball out-of-bounds or into the net, the point goes to your opponent. A ball that lands on one of the court's boundary lines is called good. If you let the ball bounce twice on your side, the point goes to your opponent. Tennis scoring depends heavily on the honesty of the players; you are required to truthfully call your opponent's shots in or out-of-bounds, and report instances when you let a ball bounce twice.
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