There is a foolproof way to climb the ranks in tennis and that is only by learning the numerous tennis rules. This will help you be the best player.
Tennis Rules: Tennis is a racquet sport in which the main objective is to hit the ball over to your opponent’s side of the court while not hitting the net and landing the ball within its correct margin as well. A point is earned in tennis whenever a player fails to successfully hit or return the ball back to the other players part of the court, I know it sounds simple however they are some basic rules that we all need to follow to earn these points.
Tennis matchups can be one person vs one or doubles, meaning two on two as well the rules for both will be different in their own specific way. We won’t just dive into that part just yet, for now, we will start off by explaining the basic rules that all should be fully aware of.
The tennis rules may seem like much at first just reading but I can tell you that once you are fully involved in the sport of tennis you will see that they are really simple some easy rules to follow.
Basic Tennis Rules
The playing grounds of tennis is been played on the rectangular-shaped court, it can be clay, grass, or hard court. The court will be separated by a net in half each player gets to control their half of the court and can move within the movements on their half of the tennis court.
- At the starting of the game, a coin flip is used to determine who will serve the game the winner of the flip also gets to choose which part f the tennis court the wish to start off with.
- A complete serve is when the ball is been served and is within bounds on the opposite side of the net, if it’s of bounds the server will lose a point.
- A player can only hit the ball once each time they play it back to the opposing player.
- If you make the ball bounce twice before returning the shot its a point will be lost.
- The serve play must bounce first before the opposing player can return the shot.
- If a play is live and the ball bounces on the boundary line it is still considered good.
- If you use the tennis racquet for anything than hitting the ball you may encounter penalty actions, for example, smash it on the ground or anything that’s not relevant to the game.
- Tennis score points are calculated by 15, 30 and 40
- 1 point is 15, 2 points 30 and 3 points are 40
- The victor needs 4 points to win the game and to win the overall match up a player needs to win the set of 6 by 2 or more.
The above listing is the general rules of tennis however they are some others that we will be talking about in a short while. These basic rules must be followed for the game to be a legal matchup as long as you keep everything in the co-ordination as the above listing you will be just about good.
Equipment and Scoring Rules In Tennis
Equipment: Its common to see players customizing their tennis racquets but there are still a few things they have to make sure of on doing this. All tennis racquet must be withing the correct built, the framework must not be bigger than 32 inches in terms of length.
The handle should not have a with no more than 12.inches, your tennis racquet shot not have any additional accessaries on it but an extra item for grip if needed. Am sure most of you will ask if the tennis association will check your tennis, it’s not something done on a regular base but they can if they think you are using an illegally made racquet.
Scoring: 1 point gives 15 score, 2 points give gives 30 score and 3 points give 40 scores. A game consists of 4 points so whoever reaches the four points wins as long as they win with a two points advantage. When playing tennis a set is considered 6 and the player that wins the set wins the overall match and again one must be the victor with at least 2 game leads.
In an alternation where the scores are 40-40, this is then called duces, this can be easily clear up by continuing the game and whoever gets the lead of 2 points will be the victor. The average game of tennis is 3 to 5 sets as well and the overall winner will be determined from those set.
Court Lines And Boundaries Rules
On a tennis court, a net is been used to divide the court into two equal halves, The net is 3ft6 inches hight at the post. If a ball is caught by the net when playing it is considered an out, but if the ball hits the net cord and falls over its considered a good play except for the serve.
Let us get into the lines on the tennis court and what they are for now, firstly you have the baseline this line is the last line on the outer box, this line usually is used to determining the length of the box as well. If a ball goes out of the baseline the server loses points, Players tent to serve the game on the baseline as well.
Next, we have the service line, the particular line is used to separates the forecourt from the backcourt, the line is also used to measure the length of the service box as well. We also have the sidelines, one is called the singles sideline and the is called the doubles sideline.
The name really explains why they are called that, the single sideline is the boundary when playing 1v1 tennis matches, that’s the line that not at the extreme side on the tennis court. The double line is the one that’s at the extreme side of the tennis court and is used only for double matches.
Serve Rules
- You will be allowed two serves to try and hot the ball in the service box if you fail the first time you will be granted a second chance.
- If a player fails on the second serve that player will lose a point
- The switching of sides in done on the tennis court for every odd-numbered game
- A LET is re-do serve that occurs when a serve is done and the ball hits the net but still falls in the service court
- What is a food fault? this is when your feet touch the wrong side of the imaginary extension in regards to the sideline and center mark OR.
The Tiebreak Serving Order
- Ongoing Point 1=Player A gets to serves
- Ongoing Point 2=Player B gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 3=Player B gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 4=Player A gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 5=Player A gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 6=Player B gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 7=Player B gets to serve
For Doubles
- Ongoing Point 1=Player A gets to serves
- Ongoing Point 2=Player X gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 3=Player X gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 4=Player B gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 5=Player B gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 6=Player Y gets to serve
- Ongoing Point 7=Player Y gets to serve
These are the tow serving formation for tiebreakers for both single and doubles in tennis.
Why rules are important in tennis
We all remember the games we learned to play growing up. You may also recall your friends, elders or parents explaining the rules before the game. Games have their own rules, be it a board game you play with your friend or an international game of tennis. You may think that you can learn the rules of the game as you play it, but that doesn’t work.
In any sport, rules are the dos and don’ts you need to keep in mind inside and outside the playing field. This includes the behavioural ethics, dress code, marking schemes, etc that not only apply to players, but also to coaches and referees. The rules differ from game to game. In tennis, for example, the player should hit the ball within the white line to score a point. In slots, the player has to get three same symbols lined up in order to win. Therefore it is paramount to understand the rules of each game before starting a game. Here’s why:
- Rules give you all the mandatory information about the game. It helps you understand what you are permitted to do and what you are not.
- Knowing the rules well increases your chances of winning the game. It also saves you from foul play and cheating.
- If you are in a dispute regarding points with your opponent, you can win it if you know the rules or else you may easily get cheated, which can get really demotivating & result in loss of interest in the game.
- Rules also help in preventing and ending riots between teams. For any local or international game, the answer to all disputes in the rule book. If you know the rules of the game beforehand it is likely there won’t be any dispute in the first place.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading to the end of our blog about the basic tennis rules, once you are fully aware of the rules that need to be taken place in the sport it will reduce your chance of giving away easy points in the game. The rules are pretty much very simple ad straight forward, just keep everything within the boxed margin and within the white lines and don’t hit the net.
Again thanks for reading and please remember to go check some of the other related articles that we have on here like, how to improve your kick serve, and more.
