Despite the simplicity of a tennis court, many terms refer to the playing area, some of which come into play when making a ruling during a match. Understanding the various parts of a tennis court and how they come into play during a match will help you play a fair match and avoid losing points.
Lines
The lines of a tennis court dictate where players stand and where balls must land during a tennis match. The baselines run horizontally, parallel to the net, along the back of a court. Players must standing behind them when serving. The sidelines run vertically up and down the sides of the court. There are singles and doubles sidelines. The area between these two lines is called the alley. The alley serves no purpose, other than to give players a reference point for positioning during a match. The service lines runs horizontally between the net and baseline, and help determine where serves must land to be good. Players must stand to one side of the center mark -- a short line perpendicular to the baseline at the center -- when serving.
Surface
Tennis courts are made of several surfaces, including grass, clay, hard, turf, carpet and stone materials. Grass courts are rare and expensive to maintain. Clay courts and their American counterparts, fast-dry courts made from crushed stone, produce slower ball speeds and allow players to slide into points. Hard courts consist of several layers of different materials, last the longest and play between grass and clay, in terms of ball speed. Carpet and turf courts are also rare, and vary in playing characteristics based on how they are made.
Net System
A net runs across the middle of the court, parallel to the baseline. Balls that hit the net during a serve and land in the service box create a let serve, or "do-over." A strap runs from the top to bottom of the net at the center to help adjust the net height to the correct 36 in. Singles sticks, placed in the net near singles sidelines, raise the net to 42 inches at the singles sidelines. They are removed during doubles matches to produce the same net height on the doubles sideline. Singles sticks are rarely used outside of tournaments.
Permanent Fixture
If a ball hits an object on or near the court or if a player is hindered by such an object, you don't replay the point, based on interference. For example, a scoreboard attached to the net is a permanent fixture. If the ball hits it and ricochets into the correct court, the person who hit the ball loses the point. If you hit a bird flying overhead during a point, you replay the point; if you hit a light fixture or roof of an indoor court during play, you lose the point, because lights and roofs are considered permanent fixtures. Ballpersons, umpires and linespersons are considered permanent fixtures if they are in their proper place during a point. An exception to this rule is when you hit the net post during a point, other than during a serve. In that case, play continues if the ball goes into the court.
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