Tennis is played all over the world on a number of different surfaces, with clay, grass and asphalt being the most common. Lawn tennis is played on grass courts—Wimbledon is a well-known example of a professional lawn tennis tournament. Lawn tennis is played in both singles and doubles formats. The rules and regulations of lawn tennis are set by the International Tennis Federation.
Court
A regulation tennis court is 78 feet long. If two players are playing, the court is 27 feet wide. For four players, the court is 36 feet wide. The net dividing the court is 36 inches high in the center of the court. The court is divided by white lines, known as "chalk" lines. These lines indicate the boundaries on the sides and ends of the court and divide each player's side of the court into three boxes. Players serve from the large box in the back into the smaller box on the opponent's side that is diagonal from the corner in which the player serves.
Keeping Score
The winner of a match is the one who wins two out of three sets in women's tennis and four out of six sets in men's tennis. Players can also win a set in men's tennis with seven points by winning the tiebreaker. A player wins a set when he wins four games or at least two games more than his opponent. A game is won by winning the highest number of points. A player may win up to three points. Having no points is known as "love," having one point is "15," two points is "30" and three points is "40." If two players each have 30 points, the point they are playing for is known as the "break point." If a player has one more point than his opponent and is serving, he is referred to as having an "advantage."
Scoring Points
Points are scored when a player hits the tennis ball so that it lands inside the court and the other player cannot return it. Only the player who served on a particular volley may win a point on that volley. Players take turns serving. If the ball hits the net, it is considered dead. If the ball lands outside the chalk lines, it is out, but if it hits the line, it is still in.
Coaching
Players may not be coached during a tennis match. The only exception allowed by the International Tennis Federation, or ITF, is in team games. If the match is a team game and the team captain is on the court, the captain may coach the team whenever play is suspended, such as when the teams are changing sides. The ITF defines coaching as "communication, advice or instruction of any kind, audible or visible, to a player."
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