Tennis Rules and Court Dimensions

Professional tennis rules regulate everything from scoring to time limits taken between points. While most recreational and amateur players abide by the same rules, officials in pro tennis make sure no one abuses the system.

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Tennis Rules: Court Dimensions

The tennis court shall be a rectangle, 78 feet (23.77 m) long and, for singles matches, 27 feet (8.23 m) wide. For doubles matches, the court shall be 36 feet (10.97 m) wide.

The court shall be divided across the middle by a net suspended by a cord or metal cable which shall pass over or be attached to two net posts at a height of 3 ½ feet (1.07 m).

The net shall be fully extended so that it completely fills the space between the two net posts and it must be of sufficiently small mesh to ensure that a ball cannot pass through it. The height of the net shall be 3 feet (0.914 m) at the centre, where it shall be held down tightly by a strap. A band shall cover the cord or metal cable and the top of the net. The strap and band shall be completely white.

• The maximum diameter of the cord or metal cable shall be 1/3 inch (0.8 cm).
• The maximum width of the strap shall be 2 inches (5 cm).
• The band shall be between 2 inches (5 cm) and 2 ½ inches (6.35 cm) deep on each side.

For doubles matches, the centres of the net posts shall be 3 feet (0.914 m) outside the doubles court on each side.

For singles matches, if a singles net is used, the centres of the net posts shall be 3 feet (0.914 m) outside the singles court on each side. If a doubles net is used, then the net shall be supported, at a height of 3 ½ feet (1.07 m), by two singles sticks, the centres of which shall be 3 feet (0.914 m) outside the singles court on each side.

• The net posts shall not be more than 6 inches (15 cm) square or 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter.
• The singles sticks shall not be more than 3 inches (7.5 cm) square or 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter.
• The net posts and singles sticks shall not be more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the top of the net cord.
  
  

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Tennis Rules: Serving

Prior to the start of a game, it is determined (usually via a coin toss) which player or team will serve first. That player will serve for the entire length of the game, and at its conclusion, the opposing team or player will then assume control of the serve.

Tennis Rules: Points

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Tennis Rules: Scoring

To put the tennis scoring system as simply as possible, one must win:

• four points to win a game.
• six games to win a set.
• two (or, more rarely, three) sets to win a match.

We'll call the players A and B.

By winning a coin toss or a spin of the racquet, A gets to choose one of the following:

• serve
• receive serve
• choose an end of the court
• have B choose

Let's say A chooses to serve. B then gets to choose an end of the court. A may serve from anywhere behind her baseline between the right singles sideline and the center mark. The serve must be struck before the ball bounces, and it must land in the service box diagonally opposite her. She gets two chances to get a serve in. If she misses both, she loses the point. If a serve that is otherwise good nicks the net on its way in, it is redone.

If A gets her serve in, B must return the ball, after exactly one bounce, into any part of A's singles court. A and B must then return the ball, after no more than one bounce, into one another's singles court until one of them misses.

A will serve from the left side of her baseline for the second point of the game, and she will continue to alternate right and left for the start of each point of the game.

Let's say A wins the first point. At the start of the next point, she must announce the score, her point total first: "15 - love." (Love = 0.)

B wins the next point: "15 all."

B wins the next point: "15 - 30."

A wins the next point: "30 all."

A wins the next point: "40 - 30."

If A wins the next point, she wins the game.

If B wins the next point, the score is "40 all," which is called "deuce." At deuce, one player must win the next two points to win the game. If, at deuce, A wins the next point, she has the advantage, and the score is called "ad in," which means server's advantage. If B had won that point, the score would have been "ad out." If the player having the advantage wins the following point, he or she wins that game. If the player with the advantage loses the point, the score returns to deuce.

With traditional scoring, games can go back and forth from deuce to ad over and over. The "No Ad" variation on the scoring within games allows for a game to be won by a margin of one point. Instead of "15," "30," and "40" used to note points, players may use "1," "2," and "3." At "3 all," the receiver may choose whether to receive in the left or right service box. The winner of that point wins the game.

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At the end of the first and every odd-numbered game, the players switch ends of the court, and the player who served the previous game now receives serve. The server always begins a game by serving from the right. At the start of each game, she announces the number of games each has won, starting with her own score, for example, "3 - 2."

Once a player has won six games by a margin of two or more, he or she has won the set. If the score within a set reaches 6 - 6, the players may either continue to try to reach a margin of two (such as 8 - 6 or 9 - 7), or they may play a tie-break to decide the set. In tournament play, this choice will have been determined in advance, but recreational players often choose whichever option appeals to them at the moment.

In a standard "12-point tie break" (best of 12), one player must win seven points by a margin or two or more. The player who received in the game preceding the tie-break serves the first point of the tie-break, starting from the right. The other player then serves the next two points, the first from the left, then the second from the right. Each player continues serving two points per turn. Points are scored with counting numbers ("1, 2, 3 . . ."). When the point total reaches six and each multiple of six, the players switch ends of the court.

Tennis Rules: Starting a New Set

If the previous set ended with an odd-numbered total of games, the players switch ends to begin the new set. (A tie-break counts as one game.) They will switch ends after every odd game through each set.

At the start of a new set, the player who received in the last game of the previous set (or received first in the tie-break) now serves.

Tennis Rules: Completing a Match

In most tournaments, the first player to win two sets (best of three) wins the match. In a few events, such as men's Grand Slam tournaments, one must win three sets (best of five). Where time or fitness impose limits on the length of matches, a tie-break is sometimes used in place of a third set.

Recreational players often keep going until they're exhausted, even if one of them has won four sets in a row.

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Tennis Rules: Time Violation

Players have 25 seconds between points and 90 seconds on changeovers. A player who exceeds this too frequently will receive a warning followed by point penalty, then a game penalty.

Tennis Rules: Challenging Call

On certain show courts that have replay systems, players may challenge line calls. A player can challenge as many calls as he likes up to three incorrect ones per set.

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Tennis Rules: Deuce

According to tennis game rules, when a game is tied at 40-40, it is known as "deuce" and extra tennis is played to determine a winner. Two points are still required to earn victory, and when a player or team gains a one-point lead, it is referred to as an "advantage".

Tennis Rules: Game Point and Break Point

If the server is in a position to win a game, the potentially decisive point is referred to as "game point." However, if the returning player and not the server is the one closing in on victory, it is referred to as a "break point" as that player is close to "breaking" his/her opponent's serve.

Tennis Rules: Game, Set and Match

The first player to win six games by at least two points wins a set, with additional games being used as tiebreakers when necessary. The first player to win a pre-determined number of sets (usually two or three) is declared the winner of the match.

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Tennis Rules: Staring a Point

There are two chances to get a serve in play with the person starting on the right side of the court serving across the court into the left service box. The server alternates sides of the court (right, then left, and then right) to start the point on while each player alternates serving each game in a set.

Tennis Rules: Bounces

The ball must be tossed and hit prior to bouncing on the serve and returned after one bounce in the service box. During the point, the player may hit the ball before it bounces or after one bounce to be considered a valid shot.

Tennis Rules: Alternating Sides

Players alternate court side after each odd game. So a player who starts on the north side to serve in Game 1 will receive on the south side for Game 2 and change sides again after games 3, 5, 7 and so on, until the set is done.

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Tennis Rules: Doubles

Tennis Rules: The Facts

The game of doubles tennis has two teams of two players each facing off against one another. In doubles tennis, the doubles alley opens up, expanding the field of play to accommodate the additional players. Each alley measures 4 1/2 feet, increasing the overall field of play from 27 to 36 feet. One teammate serves throughout the first game, and then the opposing team has their first server serve a game. The third game has the first team's second player take up service, and so on. Scoring rules remain the same as singles tennis.

Tennis Rules: Misconceptions

Novice tennis players may assume that the doubles alley is in play during a singles match. This is never the case, although the doubles alley is always open in a proper doubles game. Additionally, players do not switch sides after every game, but rather only on odd games. The same rule holds true for a pro set match.

Tennis Rules: Type

There are several variations on the regular doubles game. Mixed doubles is a special segment of doubles that allows for the official recognition of matches in which men and women play on the same team. The same rules of doubles still apply. Canadian doubles (also known as cut-throat or kiwi doubles) is an unsanctioned version of doubles that is played when there is no fourth player. Two players team up on one side against a single player on the other side of the net. The single player always holds service and has the doubles alley open to him; the doubles players must keep their shots within the singles lines. Regular rules of doubles tennis otherwise apply. Australian doubles operates the same as Canadian doubles and is also unsanctioned, although one player swaps sides after each game, so that all three players have the opportunity to play either on his own or with each of the other players.

Tennis Rules: Expert Insight

A player should always keep clear communication with his doubles partner. If an attempt to poach a shot occurs by the player at the net, or if a lob goes over that player's head, the player switching sides of the court to cover should always yell "Switch!" so that no half of the court is unmanned at any time.

Watch this excellent video showing the rules and regulations for doubles tennis.

(Resources: tennis.about.com, ehow.com, expert-tennis-tips.com)

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