Tennis Regulations Easily Explained
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.
Serving and Receiving
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 of tennis, let's have an example: If player A wins the call and opts to serve, player B will have the choice of courts. Player A stands behind the baseline to the right of the center mark, and serves the ball into Player B's right service court. Player A is allowed to serve twice.
Tennis Faults
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.
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 they are not ready yet still attempts to return the service and fails, the receiver is considered ready and the server scores a point. It is also a point against the receiver if they strike a service during the server's volley before the ball has had time to bounce. After the service, the server or the receiver can hit the ball either on a volley or following a bounce.
There are other times when a player can lose a point after service. This can happen when a player's racquet or article of clothing touches the net, when a player hits the ball more than once, when the ball touches the player or clothing, when the player plays the ball before it passes over the net and when a player tosses his or her racquet at the ball and hits it.
A ball is considered playable if the ball lands on either the baseline or sideline, if a player returns a ball that has hit the top of the net and landed on the proper court and if a returned ball hits the net post but lands in the proper court. The player using the court where the ball lands will determine whether the ball is in or out.
The rules of tennis are concrete and fundamental rules, but they may vary slightly in professional tournaments and championships.
Columnist Abbott Tearce provides material for a variety of Internet magazines, on http://first-fun.com/ sports instruction and http://bekup.com/ sporting goods recreation themes.
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