Playing tennis is not exactly a game that two friends can pick up and play if they are inexperienced. It is hard to get the ball in play for beginners, and it is also tough to keep it over the net. But before the physical demands of reflex and precision are met, the rules of tennis also must be understood. They are a bit complicated, too.
Serving
Beginning the game requires a serve, like racket most sports. However, there is a much smaller target area that the ball must hit for the serve to be valid. Lining up behind the right rectangle of your court means that you have to hit the ball into the left rectangle of your opponent's court. Once the point is decided and the rally is over, line up behind the left rectangle of your court and serve the ball into the right rectangle. The ball must clear the net and land inbounds or the serve is called a "fault." Stepping on or over the baseline before you serve also results in a fault. Two faults in a row will award a point to your opponent. Players alternate serves after each game and change sides of the court on each odd total of games, with a short break where players can rest.
Returning the Ball
If the serve is valid, the court opens up quite a bit. Hitting a ball out of bounds means that you have hit the ball past the baseline or outside of the first sidelines. The second set of sidelines is for doubles play. Winning the point will require your opponent to hit the ball into the net, hit out of bounds or fail to return your inbounds shot. Keep in mind that the ball may now hit the net and bounce over into fair territory for a point. Once the ball has bounced twice, the point is over and it is awarded to the player on the opposite side of the court.
Scoring
Each player will serve until the game is won. Winning a game requires you to reach four points and you must win by two if each player is tied at four points. The game points are called love (which is zero), 15, 30 and 40. Scoring a point after 40 will win the game. If the players are tied at 40, the score is called "deuce." Scoring a point after deuce will give you the "advantage." Winning the next point secures the game. If you lose the next point, it is deuce again, and you must again try to win by two points.
Victory
Winning the match requires you to win a best-of-three or best-of-five set match. If you are a woman, it is a best-of-three set match. Men play best-of-three set matches except in major tournaments, where the matches are best-of-five sets. A set is won by the player who is the first to win six games. However, you must win by two games, so if your opponent wins five games, you will need to win seven. If your you and your opponent are tied at six games, the next set will be a tiebreak.
The tiebreak is scored with regular numbers, one through seven serve. The first player in the tiebreak serves once, and the serve is then alternated after two points. Players change sides after six points have been played in a tiebreak. You must also win by two points in a tiebreak. The winner of the tiebreak wins the set 7-6 with the tiebreak score in parentheses.
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