Tennis is a sport embedded in tradition, and as such the rules have not changed very much over the last 100 years. Though physically playing the game can be complex at first, the rules are very simple and easy to follow. Tennis is played with two players for singles and four for doubles. The rules for singles provide a standard for learning.
Serving
Sportsknowhow.com explains that the point of tennis is to strike the ball in a way that an opponent cannot successfully return it. A coin toss or spin of a racket is used to decide who serves first; the player who receives first decides whether they want to start on the north or south side of the court. The right side of the court is called the deuce court and the left is called the advantage, or ad, court. The first serve of the game is done from the server's deuce court diagonal to the service box on the receiver's deuce court. The next point is served from the server's advantage side to the receiver's advantage side. Subsequent points alternate between the serving courts. The server has two tries to get the ball into the receiver's service box. If you miss both times it is called a double fault and you lose the point. If the ball hits the net but still goes into the receiver's service box it is called a "let" and the serve is done over.
Scoring
Scoring can be confusing to the novice player, but it becomes easier to understand once you play a few games. You have to win four points in order to win the game; points are termed 15, 30, 40 and Game. The server always calls his score first; for example, if you serve and win the point the score would be 15-love, or zero. If on the next serve you lose the point the score would be 15-15, and so on until one of you wins the game. If the score reaches 40-40 then it is called "deuce." A player must win by two points; if the server wins a point at deuce the score is "advantage-in," and if the server also wins the next point he wins the game. If the receiver wins a point at deuce it is called "advantage-out"; and the receiver must win the next point to win the game. The first player to win six games, by a margin of two games, wins the set and the first to win two sets wins the match. If a set gets to 6-6 then a tie-break is played, in which the first player to win at least seven points, by a margin of two, wins the game and set.
Line Calls
USTA.com reports that line calls are an essential part of sportsmanship in tennis because each player is responsible for the line calls on their side of the net. If the ball lands on the line it is considered in-bounds. Therefore, a line call will determine whether you or your opponent receives the point, hence complete honesty is needed.
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