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Basic Tennis Rules: How to Play

Once you’ve picked a place and your partner, you’ll want to understand the game you’re playing. Although you can download twenty-six page Rules of Tennis from the United States Tennis Association Web site (www.usta.com), the basic rules are not complicated:

In singles tennis, two opponents face each other on an open court. The court is divided into sections. The sections in each half of the court are identical. The line across the back of each half is the baseline. The net separates the two halves. Within a player’s side (from the baseline to the net), the court is divided into first a backcourt then two service courts (left and right). A narrow box called the alley runs along each side of the court.

To begin the game, one player serves, the other receives. The same player serves the entire match. The served ball must clear the net and bounce inside the opposite service box to remain in play. You are allowed two serve attempts, and if you miss both, it is called a 'double fault’, and the point goes to your opponent. If your ball hits the net but goes over, it is called a 'let’ and you are allowed to serve again without having a fault credited to you.

You then volley the ball back and forth with your partner until one person hits the ball into the net or outside the boundary of the court; in which case, the other player receives a point. If the ball bounces twice before a player can return it, the hitting player receives a point.

You score points as follows: you start out at 0-0, also called Love (0 in tennis is always referred to as Love). When players win volleys, they are given 15 points. So the first person to score gets 15-Love, then 30-Love, then 40-Love (game point) and then Game is won. If points are tied at 40-40, it is called Deuce. You must score two points in a row from Deuce to win the game.

Tennis is played to six games (called a set). Most contests between players are decided by a best-of three or best-of five sets.


Beyond On-court Etiquette

Beyond the written rules, tennis is a game with a traditional etiquette, much like golf. For example, when there’s a question by one player that a shot hit by another actually is out, you should give your opponent the benefit of the doubt and play the ball as good. Here’s another: The server should always announce the score before serving each point to avoid any controversy over the score. Take some time to learn the etiquette of tennis from experienced players.



This is an update to a longer article about Tennis. Click here to go back to the full article, Tennis: How the Pros Play

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