1-
History & Object
2- The Essentials (Scoring,
Rules, Etc.)
3- Strokes
and Spins
4- Court
Diagram and Positions
5- Glossary
of Tennis Terms
The Essentials
Game length
There is no clock or set amount
of time for a tennis match.
Play continues until one player
wins the predetermined number
of sets required for the match,
usually two or three.
Start of the match
Each point starts with a serve.
The player serving has two attempts
to hit a serve into the service
box. If he misses a serve, it
is called a fault;
if he misses both serves, a
double
fault occurs and the
point goes to the opposing player.
When the serve lands in the
service box, the opposing player
attempts to return the ball
over the net and inbounds before
the ball bounces twice. The
players continue to rally,
or hit the ball back and forth,
until one player is unable to
return the ball and a point
is scored.
Scoring
A point
is scored when an opponent
cannot return the ball back
over the net and into the court.
The first player to score four
points wins the game.
Tennis uses a unique scoring
system. Instead of scoring the
four points as zero, one, two,
three, and four, tennis points
are called love, 15, 30, and
40, respectively. For example,
a score of two to one would
be called “30-15.”
The score is announced before
each serve and the score of
the player serving is called
first. If the players tie at
four points, the score, and
each subsequent tie, is called
deuce.
Players must win two consecutive
points following deuce to win
the game. The first player to
win six games wins a set.
Sets are won when one player
wins at least six games, with
at least two more than his opponent
(for example, 6-0, 6-4 or 7-5).
If two players tie at six games
apiece, players either continue
until one player leads by two
games, or play a tiebreak.
A match
ends when one player wins
a predetermined number of sets
(three sets in a best-of-five
set match, two sets in a best-of-three
set match).
Team scoring
Tennis is played as a team
sport at the youth, high school,
college, and amateur levels.
Tournaments are often structured
by seedings. At the high school
level, all players are seeded,
and corresponding seeds play
one another. For example, the
best player (#1 seed) of Team
A plays the best player (#1
seed) on Team B; the #2 seeds
play each other, and so on.
Typically, each team enters
six singles players for individual
matches and three doubles teams.
Each match is worth one point,
for a total of nine possible
points. The team with the most
points wins.
Doubles tennis
Doubles tennis features the
same rules, but with two players
on each side. The court is wider
in doubles
Equipment
The rules of tennis have altered
little since its inception.
The biggest change in the game
has been the evolution of equipment,
as powerful graphite and composite
racquets have become much more
widely used than their low-powered
wooden counterparts. Other tennis
equipment includes: tennis balls;
shoes that are specifically
designed to provide lateral
support, as side-to-side movement
is more prevalent in tennis
than in other sports; short-sleeved
shirts; and shorts or skirts.
Common Referee Signals
In professional tennis, one
chair umpire and several linespeople
determine whether the balls
are hit in or out of the court.
Balls that do not land safely
in the court are called “out”;
balls that are “in”
require no call. A ball that
strikes any line is considered
to be in. On the recreational
level, players call their own
lines. Calls must be immediate
and audible. The rule of thumb
for calling lines dictates that
all ambiguous calls be made
in favor of the opponent. In
competitive tournament play,
players also call their own
lines, but may request a ruling
from an official in the case
of a dispute.
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