Basic Tennis Rules For Beginners PLAYING A GAME, SET, AND MATCH - Your Guide to Rules of Tennis

Singles is a match between two players. Doubles is a match among four players— two on each team. Mixed doubles is a match pairing a man and woman on one team against a man and woman on the other team. One-up, one-down wheelchair tennis pairs a wheelchair player with an able-bodied player competing against a team also composed of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player.





After a 10-minute warm-up, the players decide by spinning a racket or flipping a coin who will serve first and on which end of the court they will begin the match (for more details, see How to play tennis singles rules ). The server has two chances to put the ball in play, and the point is played out. After the serve, players may hit the ball before or after it bounces once on the court. Points are won when the opponent hits into the net or outside the boundary lines.





One player serves an entire game, which may last from 4 points to an infinite number of points. The first point of every game always begins on the right side of the baseline. The server alternates serving the first point from the right side of the baseline and the second point from the left side. The receiver also moves back and forth from right to left to return the serve (in singles; for information specific to doubles, see How to play tennis doubles rules ).





A set is won when one player has won at least 6 games and is ahead by at least 2 games. The final score in a set would be 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6, and so on. Note that this win-by-two rule varies depending on the level of play; in many cases, tiebreakers are used instead. For more specific information regarding scoring, see the Scoring section.





A recreational player wins a match by winning 2 out of 3 sets. Male professionals must win 3 out of 5 sets in a few big tournaments and 2 out of 3 in most other events, whereas female professionals must win 2 out of 3 sets in all tournaments. When time is limited, pro sets might constitute a match. An 8-game pro set is won by the player who wins at least 8 games and who is ahead by at least 2 games. Players change ends of the court when the total number of games played at any time during a set is an odd number.





In most matches, players are responsible for keeping their own scores and for calling their opponents’ shots out of bounds. No sound from a player means the ball is in, and play continues. Balls that hit the lines are in play. Shouting “out” means the ball landed outside the boundary line and the point is over.





In some tournament competitions, an umpire may stand or sit near the net, call out the score, and settle disputes on close shots. At higher levels of the game, linespersons are positioned to make line calls. Figure 5a illustrates the lines and areas of the court; figure 5b, court dimensions.





Figure 5: Tennis court (a) lines and areas; (b) dimensions.



A match may also refer to competition between two teams representing schools, clubs, or other groups. Within each match, points make up games, games make up sets, and sets make up matches.





A tennis tournament involves teams or individuals competing against other teams or individuals in a series of matches. A high school or college team, for example, may enter a single-elimination tournament. With one loss a team is eliminated from championship competition (although in some cases may move into a consolation bracket). The U.S. Open and Wimbledon are examples of single-elimination tournaments for the best players in the world. In a double-elimination tournament, which is rarely used in tennis, an individual or team that loses two matches is out. A round-robin tournament involves an individual or team competing against all of the other players or teams entered in that tournament. The team with the best overall win–loss record wins the tournament. In the case of a tie, head-to-head match results may be used.





How to play tennis singles rules for beginners Players take all practice shots before the match begins. Warm-ups are usually limited to 10 minutes. The player who wins the racket spin or coin toss may choose to serve or to receive, or on which side of the court to play the frst game. The winner also has the option to relinquish the frst choice to the opponent. The other player gets to choose whatever the winner hasn’t chosen—serve or receive, or side of court. Read step 9, Singles Tactics, for tactical considerations regarding these options.





To begin a game, the server stands behind the baseline to the right of the center mark and inside the singles sideline, facing the net ( figure 6 ). When the opponent is ready, the server has two chances to put the ball into play by tossing it into the air and hitting it into the service court across the net and diagonally opposite from the baseline serving position. The server cannot step on or beyond the baseline before striking the ball.



Figure 6: Player positioning when beginning a singles game.







If the receiver makes any attempt to return the serve, she is indicating that she is ready to begin play. The receiver can stand anywhere, but must let the serve bounce before returning it. After each point, the server alternates between the left and right sides of the center mark to serve. If a served ball hits the top of the net and goes into the proper court, “let” is called and the serve is replayed.





Players win a point if the opponent does any of the following:

Fails in both attempts to serve the ball into the proper court

Hits the ball outside the proper boundary lines

Hits the ball into the net

Lets the ball bounce twice before returning it

Reaches over the net to hit a ball before it has bounced

Throws the racket and hits the ball

Touches the net with her body or racket while the ball is in play

Deliberately carries or catches the ball on the racket strings

Does anything to hinder the opponent in making a shot

Touches the ball with anything other than the racket during play

Touches or catches the ball during play, even if standing outside the court





How to play tennis doubles rules for beginners The server may stand anywhere behind the baseline between the center mark and the doubles sideline ( figure 7 ). The four players take turns serving an entire game. The order of serving stays the same throughout the set. In a game of AC versus BD, A serves, then B or D serves, then C, then B or D (whoever did not serve the second game). Receivers choose the right or left side to receive serve throughout the set. Other rules described for singles apply to doubles, except that after the serve, the alleys between the singles and doubles sidelines are in play. Only one player on a doubles team can strike the ball before it goes over the net.



Figure 7 Player positioning when beginning a doubles game.







Scoring tennis for beginners The server’s score is always called out frst. Points are called love (0), 15 (the frst point won by either player), 30 (the second point), 40 (the third point), and game (the fourth point). If the players are tied at 3 or more points during a game, the score is called “deuce.”





After deuce, if the server goes ahead by 1 point, the score is ad in or advantage server. If the receiver scores a point, it’s ad out. A player must win 2 consecutive points after deuce to win the game. If not, the score is deuce again without limits to how many times it occurs.





NO-AD SCORING

No-ad scoring was introduced to simplify the method of keeping score and to reduce the time of matches. It is much easier for fans and players to learn and remember a simple 1-2-3 system than the 15-30-40-deuce-ad method.





Here is how no-ad scoring works:

The first player to win 4 points wins the game.

Points are 1, 2, 3, and game.

When the score is tied at 3-3, the next point ends that game.

At 3-3, the receiver chooses to receive the serve from either the right or left receiving court.

Because no-ad scoring eliminates the requirement of having to win games by at least 2 points, the overall length of tennis matches can be reduced considerably. Some high school and college matches are played on unlighted courts after school, before dark. No-ad scoring allows matches to be completed during daylight hours. Also, tournaments with large numbers of players, a restricted amount of time, and limited court space frequently use this method of scorekeeping. Matches are more likely to last between one hour and one hour, 15 minutes.





The disadvantage of no-ad scoring is that the well-conditioned athlete is penalized. The player who depends on endurance can use longer games and sets to wear down an opponent. Because no game will last more than 7 points, it may be possible for a player who gets a good start to gain an edge that cannot be overcome in a short match.





Tennis tiebreaker rules for doubles & singles

As mentioned earlier, tiebreakers were introduced so a 6-6 set could end more quickly than a regular set. Tiebreakers are scored as follows.





12-Point Tiebreaker: In a 12-point tiebreaker, the player or team that wins 7 points and is ahead by at least 2 points wins the tiebreaker and, therefore, a set. The score is called out as 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on throughout the game. A fnal tiebreaker score might be 7-0, 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 7-5, 8-6, 9-7, and so on (in points played). The set score would then be 7-6 or 6-7.





The singles player (or the player on the doubles team) whose turn it is to serve, serves the first point of the tiebreaker. The first server serves the first point from the right side of the court. The opponent then serves the second and third points, and after that, players serve alternately for 2 consecutive points until the winner of the tiebreak game and set has been decided. The second server serves the second and third points from the left and right courts, respectively, and this alternating-service system continues until the tiebreak game is completed.





Players change ends of the court after every 6 points and at the end of the tiebreaker. The player or team that served first in the tiebreak game receives in the first game of the next set.





Coman Tiebreaker: The Coman tiebreak procedure, according to the USTA, is the same 12-point tiebreaker, except that the players change ends after the frst point, then after every 4 points (after the 5th, 9th, 13th, 17th points, and so on), and at the end of the tiebreaker (before the next set begins). The scoring is the same as a traditional tiebreaker, and the procedure is the same as a set or match tiebreaker. If the set score is 6-6, the player whose turn it is to serve serves the frst point from the deuce court. After the frst point, the players change ends and the following 2 points are served by the opponent in singles or opponents in doubles—that is, the player of the opposing team due to serve next—starting on the left side. Then each player or team serves alternately for 2 consecutive points (starting with the left side, or ad court). The opponents change ends after every 4 points until the end of the tiebreaker.





The Coman tiebreaker has two advantages:

The more frequent changing of ends results in elements such as the sun and wind being distributed more fairly between the two opponents. In the traditional 12-point tiebreaker, a player or team plays 6 consecutive points from the same end before changing sides. In doubles, the server will always serve from the same end of the court that he did throughout the set, rather than having to serve from both ends.

COMAN TIEBREAKER HIGHLIGHTS

Following are some key ways the Coman tiebreaker differs from the 12-point tiebreaker:

Players or teams change ends after the first point.

Players or teams change ends every 4 points thereafter.

In doubles, each player serves from the end of the court that was determined at the beginning of the set.

Super Tiebreaker: A tiebreaker that is played in lieu of the third set is called a super tiebreaker, or 10-point tiebreaker. The super tiebreaker is played following either the 12-point or Coman tiebreaker procedures, except that the tiebreaker is played to 10; the frst player or team to win 10 points when ahead by 2 wins the tiebreaker. The super tiebreaker is used in USTA league play, in many other USTA events, and at a growing number of high schools.





Unwritten tennis rules Because most tennis matches are played on the honor system without offcials, a few unwritten rules exist for players and spectators.