Tennis Rules

Tennis is a sport played either one-on-one (singles) or in teams of two (doubles) on a rectangular court divided by a net. The goal is to hit a ball with a racket over the net and into your opponent's court in a way that they cannot legally return it.

Basic Gameplay

• Serving: A point begins with a serve. The server stands behind the baseline and must hit the ball diagonally into the opponent's service box.

  • You get two chances to make a legal serve. A "fault" is an illegal serve (e.g., if it hits the net and doesn't land in the service box, or if it lands outside the correct service box).

  • Two consecutive faults ("double fault") results in the loss of the point.

  • A "let" is a serve that hits the net but still lands in the correct service box. It's a do-over, with no penalty.

  • The server alternates serving sides after each point. The first point of a game is always served from the right side of the court.

• Rally: After a legal serve, players hit the ball back and forth until one player fails to make a legal return. A legal return can be made after the ball bounces once, but before it bounces a second time.

• Winning a Point: A player wins a point if:

  • The opponent's serve is a double fault.

  • The opponent fails to hit the ball over the net and into the correct court.

  • The opponent hits the ball outside the court boundaries.

  • The opponent's racket or body touches the net while the ball is in play.

Scoring

Tennis has a unique scoring system, progressing from points to games, and then to sets and matches.

• Points:

  • A score of zero is called "love."

  • The first point is 15.

  • The second point is 30.

  • The third point is 40.

  • The fourth point wins the game, unless the score is tied at 40-40.

• Deuce and Advantage:

  • When the score is tied at 40-40, it's called "deuce."

  • To win the game from deuce, a player must win two consecutive points.

  • The first point won after deuce gives that player the "advantage" (often called "Ad-In" for the server or "Ad-Out" for the receiver).

  • If the player with the advantage wins the next point, they win the game. If they lose the next point, the score returns to deuce.

• Games: A player must win four points to win a game, and must have a two-point lead.

• Sets: A set is won by the first player to win six games with a margin of at least two games (e.g., 6-4).

  • If a set is tied at 5-5, a player must win the next two games to win the set 7-5.

  • If a set reaches 6-6, a tiebreak game is usually played. In a tiebreak, points are counted as 1, 2, 3, etc., and the first player to reach seven points with a two-point lead wins the tiebreak and the set (e.g., 7-6).

• Matches: Matches are typically played as the best of three or best of five sets. The first player to win the majority of the sets wins the match.

Court and Lines

• A standard tennis court is 78 feet long.

• For singles, the court is 27 feet wide.

• For doubles, the court is 36 feet wide, including the "doubles alleys" on each side.

• A ball that lands on any part of a line is considered "in."