Tennis Study Guide
History
Tennis was invented in 1873 by a British man named Walter Clopton Wingfield, who patterned it after a sport the
Greeks played. The game was brought to America via Bermuda by Mary Ewing Outerbridge from Staten Island New
York, where it was first played in 1874 at the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club.
Rules of Tennis
The rules of tennis are fairly simple. One player hits, or serves, the ball from a corner of a marked out area called a
court that is divided down the middle with a three foot (0.9 meters) net. The opposite player’s goal is to return the ball
bouncing it no more than once aiming for the other player to not be able to hit it. A score is made when a player is not
able to return the ball at all or with more than one bounce.
Official tennis rules
The overall goal of tennis is to gain points to win: games, sets and matches. Sets include the highest score out of three
games for women and for men, the highest score out of five for men. A set is won only if a player leads by two clear
games or more.
Equipment
The tennis court - The basic rules of tennis call for a regulation size tennis court. This means that it is 78 feet long (or
23.8 meters) and has a three foot (0.9 meter) net dividing it down the center. For doubles play the tennis court is 36
feet wide (11 m) (this is gotten by including the 4.5 ft alleys that run the length of the court) and for singles it is 27 feet
(8.2 meters). The court floor varies; it is sometimes asphalt, clay, concrete, grass, artificial grass or even wood or
other synthetic materials. There is a server line that is marked 21 feet from and parallel from the net.
Tennis Rackets - the usual tournament size racket is 32 inches long and 11 1/2 inches in width.
Tennis Balls- These vary in color, but for official tournaments the ball must be yellow or white in color.
Singles
Server/receiver-The server is chosen by a coin toss or by spinning the racket. The one who wins the toss can give the
choice to other person, choose which end to play and let the other person serve or choose to serve and let the other
person choose the end they wish to play. The server (person playing first) is changed every game and the ends are
changed every other game.
Doubles
Serving is alternated from team to team and from player to player so that each player serves every fourth game.
Bother partners (of receivers and servers) can stand anywhere they want, however it is traditional for partners to stand
side by side.
Scoring
In tennis scoring is unusual- the scores do not increase by single digits, they begin at 15 and go up 30 and then 40.
When a person has no score it is called "love". So if player A gets 15 first the score is 15-"love". When the score gets
to 40-40 it is known as deuce and the next player to get two points wins. If they get only one point it is known as
"Advantage server" (or receiver) and then loose the next point it goes back to deuce. There are times when players both
agree to skip the advantage acknowledgment and only play to one point after deuce for the winning point.
Penalties
There are certain penalties while playing tennis, these usually result in several points lost for various things. These are:
1. Touching opponents ground, the net or posts or any other person or official in the game.
2. Carrying the ball or catching it in the racket.
3. Hitting the ball two times or before it has crossed the net.
4. If the ball hits or touches anything on (clothes) or carried by the player (with the exception of the racket).
5. Throwing the racket or other kinds of racket abuse
The Ten Rules of Tennis Guidelines
The rules of tennis are quite simple. The game itself is complex.
Rule 1. Opponents stand on opposite sides of the court. The player who delivers the ball to start the point is
called the server. The player who stands opposite and cross-court from the server is the receiver.
Rule 2. The right to serve, receive, choose your side, or give the opponent these choices is decided by a
toss of a coin or racquet. If the choice of service or receiver is chosen, the opponent chooses which side to
start.
Rule 3. The server shall stand behind the baseline on the deuce court (right court) within the boundaries
of the singles court when playing singles and within the doubles sideline when playing doubles. All even
points are played from the deuce court and odd number points played from the advantage court (left
court). The server shall not serve until the receiver is ready. Serves are made from the deuce court to the
opponents service box on the deuce court. Advantage court to advantage box. If the server misses his
target twice(fault), he loses the point. If the ball hits the net and goes in the correct service box (Let),
another serve is granted. If the server steps on the baseline before contact is made, the serve is deemed a
foot fault.
Rule 4. The receiver is deemed ready if an attempt is made to return the server's ball. The receiver can
stand where he likes but must let the ball bounce in the service box. If the ball does not land in the service
box, it is deemed a fault and a second serve is given. If the ball is hit by either opponent before the ball
bounces, the server wins the point.
Rule 5. The server always calls his score first. If the server wins the first point, he gets a score of 15.
Scoring is done like a clock. See example below. Love means zero in tennis. The second point is called
30. The third point is called 40 and game is won when the score goes back to love. If the score is 40-40,
also known as deuce, one side must win by two points. Advantage-In means if the server wins the next
point, he wins the game. Advantage-Out means the receiver has a chance to win the game on the next
point.
LOVE 15-30-40
(In the old days tennis used to be scored 15-30-45)
Rule 6. After the game, the opponents serve. Games equal 1. The first to win 6 games, by two, wins the
Set. The first to win 2 sets wins the Match. If the score is 6-6, a tie-breaker is played. This is scored by
one's. The first team to score 7 points winning by two wins the set. The tiebreaker continues until one side
wins by two. Hence, Game-Set-Match.
Rule 7. If the ball goes into the net, or outside the boundaries of the court, the player who hit that ball loses
the point. If the ball hits the net during the point and goes into the opponents court, the ball is in play. A
player loses the point if he touches the net, drops his racquet while hitting the ball, bounces the ball over
the net, hits a part of the surroundings such as the roof, or a tree, the ball touches him or his partner, he
deliberately tries to distract the opponent.
Rule 8. A let is called during the point if a ball rolls on the court or there is a distraction from someone
besides the players on the court.
Rule 9. A ball that lands on the line is good.
Rule 10. If players serve out of turn or serve to the wrong person or court, the point or game will stand
and order will be resumed following the point or game.
Tennis Court Diagram