Basic rules of tennis pdf

A set is a collection of games , usually played until a player wins six games. How Does Tennis Betting Work? What Does What Is Doubles In Tennis? What Is Mixed Doubles Tennis? What is Tennis? What is Wheelchair Tennis? What Is Fault In Tennis? What Is Tennis Etiquette? What are the rules of tennis? Tennis Shots Tennis Tournaments. Some additional shots used in the game include the lob , a shot placed over the opponents head when they are up at the net, the drop shot which is a lightly hit shot that just makes it over the net, and the smash which is an overhead shot taken with or without a ball bounce.

An approach shot is a shot placed by the hitter just prior to approaching the net. Typically a player will hit a deep shot in order to give themselves more time to approach the net.

A passing shot is a winner that is hit past an opponent while they are up at the net. Additionally, shots can be cross-court or down the line depending on where they are placed relative to the hitting players positioning. Shots that are hit straight across the center of the court are referred to as down the middle shots. Often spin is used to throw off opponents or, in the case of topspin , to allow powerful shots to drop. Slice shots more accurately underspin are hit with backspin to make returning the shot more difficult for the opponent.

Spin is used on groundstrokes as well as on serves. There are four types of serves used in the modern game: the flat serve minimal spin , slice serve sideways spin , topspin serve forward rotational spin and the kick serve bottom-to-top spin.

All shots that pass over the net and land anywhere within the boundaries of the court, lines included, are considered good. With the exception of the serve, shots can hit the net and still count as good as long as they land within the boundaries of the court.

Tennis courts measure 78 feet The net posts are located 3 feet 0. This allows for added coverage on wide shots. Occasionally players will play the ball very wide and beyond the extents of the net posts. Tennis can be played as a singles match between two opponents on opposite ends of the court, or as a doubles match with two players on each side.

Whether the match is played as a singles match or a doubles match determines which parts of the tennis court are used. Additional overrun space is needed beyond the boundaries of a court to allow players to reach shots that are very wide or very deep. All together with the overrun area included, the total court area measures 60 feet 18 meters wide and feet 37 meters long. Most tennis courts are outdoor courts. However, indoor tennis courts are not uncommon in areas where rain and snow are prevalent.

Indoor tennis courts, like outdoor tennis courts can be any material. The only exception being natural grass.

Indoor courts sometimes use artificial grass in place of natural grass. However, similar to outdoor courts, hard courts are most common indoors. This is primarily due to their easy maintenance relative to other surfaces. In a doubles match, the full width of the court 36 ft 11 m is used. This includes the doubles alleys on each side. The lines at the furthest extremes perpendicular to the net are known as the doubles sidelines.

All shots that land on or within the doubles sidelines count as good. The lines just inside of the doubles sidelines are known as the singles sidelines.

These lines demarcate the outer boundary for a singles match, 27 feet 8. All balls that land wide of the singles line within the doubles alleys are considered out in a singles match.

The lines at each end of the length of the court are known as the baseline. Shots must land on or within the baseline for play to continue. The baseline is not only an important boundary for groundstroke shots but also plays a role during serves.

When serving, a player must be careful not to step on or beyond the baseline. If this happens, the play results in a foot fault, which is the equivalent of missing the serve.

In the middle of the baseline is a center mark. The center mark divides the baseline into two halves. During service, the player serving the ball is required to serve from the appropriate side of the center mark, depending on the score. The right side from the vantage point of the server is referred to as the Deuce court, while the right side is the Ad court.

When service begins, players always serve first from the Deuce right side. On the next point, they switch to the Ad side. This sequence continues until the Game ends. Players are not allowed to set up past the center mark. They must set up on the side that corresponds with the point being played, that is either on the Deuce Court side or the Ad Court side. The final remaining lines are the service lines, which combined with the net and the singles sidelines form the service boxes.

There are two service boxes on each side of the net, four in total in a tennis court. The service line in the middle of the court center of the net is referred to as the center service line.

The service line towards the back, which runs parallel to the net, is simply called the service line. Service boxes measure 21 feet 6. As the name suggests, serves must land within the correct service box or service lines to count as good and for play to continue. The serve must go over the net cleanly, without hitting or even touching the net and must land in the service box located diagonally from the side the serve is taken from.

The service returner must allow the ball to bounce once before making contact after the serve. If the returner hits the ball before it bounces, the point is automatically awarded to the server.

If the serve misses the service box or hits the net, the player gets a second chance to make the serve. If the second serve results in a fault — referred to as a double fault — then the player receiving the ball wins the point. The server must then repeat the serve. In theory, lets can go on indefinitely until either the ball lands cleanly in the service box or results in a fault.

If the ball touches the net and lands out of the service box, this is considered out. It is the equivalent of missing the serve. For a serve to be a let, the ball must not only touch the net but also land in the correct service box.

If the service returner touches the ball but is not able to return the shot, this is known as a service winner. During a match, players are not allowed to touch the net with any part of their bodies or racket.

They are also not allowed to cross the net with their racket, even if they themselves do not touch the net. Shots that are hit along the side of the net and land in are considered good. So long as the shot lands within the boundaries of the court, the ball can be hit around the net post. Tennis matches are comprised of Sets.

Depending on how the match is structured usually set up in advance , players need to win anywhere from one Set to three Sets best of five , with best of three Sets being most common. Sets, in turn, are broken down into Games. A player needs to win at least 6 Games to win the Set by a margin of at least two Games. If the lead is less than two, then seven Games are required to win the Set. This can be achieved either by reaching seven with a two-Game lead or in the case of a tie, winning the Set in a tiebreaker.

Tie-breakers require at least seven points to win, but the margin must be a minimum of two points. If less than two, the tie-breaker continues until one of the players manages to win by a margin of two points.

During a tie-break, players alternate serve every two points, with the exception of the very first serve. On the first serve, the server serves only one point, and then the serve switches to the other player. After that, the serve switches every two points. The person who serves first is determined based on who received serve the last Game. The player who received serve in the Game prior to the tie-breaker initiates serve during the tie-breaker. In some tournaments, such as the French Open where tiebreakers are not used, players must win by two Games regardless.

This often results in high, double-digit Set scores. Finally, Games are further broken down into points. Games can be won when reaching four points. Similar to a Set, however, Games must be won by a difference of two points.

Traditional point-scoring works in the following manner. A Game starts out at Love-Love, in other words, The first point in a Game is counted as The second point is referred to as 30 and the third point is called If the player manages to win by a margin of at least two points, they win the Game. For example, could also be referred to as All. If the score is tied at , this is referred to as Deuce.

Whoever wins the next point is said to have the Advantage also referred to as Ad for short. If that same player wins the next point, they win the Game. If not, the score goes back to Deuce. This can continue until one of the players wins by two consecutive points. In order to distinguish between the serving player having the advantage or the returning player having the advantage, Ad-In or Ad-Out is used.

Ad-In means the player serving has the advantage. Ad-Out means the player on the return side has the advantage.