Tennis is played by tiny tots, senior citizens and every age group in between. From brand-new beginners to world-class professionals, players use different formats with various rules to make the game more competitive for each skill level. Knowing the rules governing your match will help you enjoy the game with less confusion.
Entry-Level Rules
As you begin the game, you may not encounter many rules beyond keeping score, making calls and switching sides. The basic rules start with the serve, with the server hitting from one end of the court into the opposite side service box, denoted by the lines near the net. If the ball lands in the box without hitting the net, a rally starts. If the ball does not land in the service box, it's a fault. Two faults results in the loss of a point. If the ball hits the net and lands in the service box, a let, or do-over is played.
After a good serve, a rally begins and continues until the ball lands outside the boundary lines, goes into the net or bounces twice. You'll switch sides, left to right and vice versa, after every point. You switch ends of the court, north and south, after every odd-numbered game. To make scoring easy, beginners use a simple, 1, 2, 3 scoring method, with a sudden-death point played if the score gets to three all. The receiver chooses on which side of the court, left or right, she wishes to receive the sudden-death point. This is called no-ad scoring.
To win a match, you can play best-of-three or five sets, comprised of six games, or an eight- or 10-game pro set. If the score is tied at 6, 8 or 10 all, you play a tie-break, with the easiest format the first player to win 5 points, alternating serves every other point. At 4-all, the final server continues serving, with the receiver choosing side for this sudden-death point. Switch ends of the court after 4 points have been played in a tie-break.
Intermediate Rules
As you get more serious about your tennis, you'll want to play using rules used in most tournaments and leagues. To win a game, you must win by a 2-point margin. The game scoring system now uses 15, 30 and 40 used to denote the first 3 points won by a player. If you reach 40-all, or 3 points each, the score becomes "deuce." After that, each point won gives the advantage to one player, who only needs to win one more point to win the game. If the leading player loses the point, the score goes back to deuce, and so on until one players wins the game.
Advanced Rules
If you are playing in a competitive league or tournament, you'll want to know some of the more official rules regarding the game. You will start your match flipping a coin or spinning the racket. The winner has four options: serve first, receive first, choose side or make the opponent choose. You will use the deuce/ad scoring format unless otherwise directed. You will play best-of-three or five match sets unless otherwise directed, with a 12-point tie-break to finish a 6-all set. The first server serves one point to the deuce court, then each server serves 2 points, starting from the ad court, until one player reaches seven points with a 2-point lead. You will switch ends of the court every odd game, with a two-minute break allowed during each switch.
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