Love Of Tennis

By: Abbott Tearce

Tennis is a fun sport for beginners and professionals, and the basic rules apply for all levels of the game. Learning these rules is the first step to playing a winning game.

Serve and Receive

One of the important rules for playing tennis: To determine who serves first, one player will spin the racket and the opponent would choose up or down, up meaning the letters fall upright and down meaning the letters are facing down. The player who wins the call has the option of whether to serve first or which side of the net to be on first.

To better understand the rules for playing tennis, let's have an example: If player A wins the call and opts to serve, player B would have the choice of courts. Player A must stand behind the baseline to the right of the center mark, and serve the ball into Player B's right service court. Player A is allowed two serves.

Fault

A fault is any disobedience of the rules of tennis. In addition to that, here are some other ways that can construe a "fault": If the player swings and misses the ball; if the player hits the ball into the net; if the ball bounces in the service court but hits any permanent fixture, such as the net post; and the player must not step on or over the baseline before the racket hits the ball or it is called a foot fault. The player may step on or over the line after the racket contacts with the ball. Just a word of advice, leaning over the line without touching it during a serve is absolutely legal.

Calling Let Service

A "let" service may be called when, on your service, the ball skims over the top of the net, but continues into the service court of your opponent. Let service may also be called when you serve the ball into the opposite service court before your opponent is ready. Let service is not considered a fault, and will not count as one of your two serves. Further, if you toss the ball and catch it without swinging, it will not count as a serve and you may serve again as per the rules for tennis.

After the first point is scored, the player serves from the left of the center mark for the second point, serving the ball into the opponent's left service court. Then, after the next point, service moves back to the right, and that player remains server throughout the game. Positions, from left to right, are changed after each point is played. Receiver or opponent may select any position he or she wants.

If the receiver tells the server that he or she is not ready, but attempts to return the service and fails, the receiver is considered ready and the server scores a point. A point will also be called against the receiver if he or she strikes a service during the server's volley, before the ball has had time to bounce. Once the ball has been served, the server or the receiver can hit the ball either on a volley or following a bounce.

There are other circumstances in which a player can lose a point after service. This may happen if a player's racquet or article of clothing touches the net, if a player hits the ball more than once, if the ball touches a player or clothing, if a player plays the ball before it passes over the net, or if a player tosses his or her racquet at the ball and hits it.

However, a ball is considered playable if the ball lands on either the baseline or sideline; if a player returns a ball which hits the top of the net and lands on the proper court; or if a returned ball hits the net post but lands in the proper court. The player in whose court the ball lands determines whether the ball is in or out.

There are concrete and fundamental rules in the game of tennis, although these may vary slightly in professional tournaments and championships.