Since the beginning of the open era of tennis in 1968, which allowed any player to play in any tournament, the sport has been a commercial success around the world. The success of professional tennis stars such as Steffi Graf and Roger Federer draw new players to the game annually, as do what BBC Sport calls the game’s “wonderfully simple” rules.
Court and Basics
The world’s governing body for tennis, the International Tennis Federation, dictates that the court shall be a rectangle 78 feet long and 27 feet wide for singles matches or 36 feet wide for doubles matches. Players stand at opposite ends of the court and hit a ball to each other over a net that divides the center of the court. You have one bounce after your opponent hits the ball to return it over the net. The ball must land within the court boundaries to be counted as in play. Failure to serve or return the ball legally will reward your opponent with a point.
Service
The winner of a pre-match coin toss will decide to serve, receive, choose a side of the court or allow his opponent to make the decision. If you are the server, you must stand with both feet behind the baseline, release the ball by hand and hit the ball into the diagonally opposing court with your racket before it hits the ground. If your foot touches any of the court lines, the ball hits the net or lands out of the receiving area or you miss the ball on your first service, it is considered a “fault.” You lose a point if you serve two consecutive faults. If the ball hits the net but lands in the receiving area or if the receiver is not ready, the serve is considered a “let” and should be done over with no penalty. At the end of each game, the server and receiver swap roles.
Return
A return of service is good if it lands in the correct court on the opposing side of the net. Your return is counted as good even if it touches the net, singles sticks, net posts or metal cable, as long as the ball lands in the correct court.
Scoring
Having zero points in tennis is called “Love” and when you score one point you are at “15.” Your second point is called “30,” the third is called “40” and the final point is “game” point. If you and your opponent both reach 40, the score is “deuce.” Scoring the point after deuce is reached gives you the “advantage” and scoring a second straight point wins you the game. If your opponent scores after the advantage, the game returns to Deuce.
Winning a Match
You win a set by winning six games in that set, as long as you have a margin of two games over your opponent. If no such margin exists, you will either need to obtain that margin or play a tiebreaker game. You win the match when you take the best of three or the best of five sets.
References
- ITF Tennis: Rules of Tennis 2010
- "Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book"; Bud Collins; 2008
- BBC Sport: Basic Rules of Tennis
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