In tennis, players must hit the ball over the net and within bounds to keep the ball in play. Any ball that hits any part of the line bounding an in-bounds area counts as in bounds. Rules officials’ or players’ calls play a large role in tennis matches. The official rules of the United States Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Federation provide guidelines for correcting bad calls and ensuring the fairness of all calls.
Rules Officials and Authority
If a match has a chair umpire, the chair umpire serves as the final authority on all rules issues and lines calls. According to USTA and ITF rules, players can consult the referee for the match or tournament if they believe the umpire has misinterpreted a tennis rule, but they cannot consult the referee to protest an umpire’s line call. If the match has line umpires and net umpires, these officials make calls relating to the net or to the lines for which they are responsible. The chair umpire can overrule any call made by a line or net umpire if she sees that these judges have made a mistake. The umpire must overrule the call immediately rather than at the end of the point. If neither the line umpire nor the net umpire can see the point well enough to make a call, and if the chair umpire also cannot make a decision, players must replay the point.
Ball Mark Inspections
USTA and ITF rules allow players to request ball mark inspections on clay courts. The player can request that the chair umpire inspect a ball mark. The umpire should only inspect a ball mark if she could not call the ball in or out with certainty. The umpire must inspect the ball mark herself. If the umpire cannot clearly see the ball mark, the original call must stand. No player can walk to her opponent’s side of the net to inspect a ball mark herself.
Electronic Review
Some tournaments have electronic review technology. At tournaments with such technology, players or teams can stop play to request an electronic review or they can request a review after a point-ending shot. The chair umpire should only use the electronic review system when he cannot make a call with certainty. If the electronic review system does not provide a good view of the ball, or if it malfunctions in any way, the original call must stand.
Making Calls Without Officials
In many informal matches or tournaments, players must make their own calls. A player must make all calls on her own side of the net. If a player cannot make a call with certainty, he must give his opponent the benefit of the doubt and call the ball in. According to the USTA and ITF code, any ball that a player cannot call out must be called good. If you realize you have called a shot out that was in fact in, replay the point if you returned the ball in bounds. If you hit the ball out of bounds, give your opponent the point. If you suspect that your opponent has made a bad call, you can verbally question the call once. If your opponent confirms the call, you must accept her decision.
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