There are two types of tennis: singles and doubles. The only differences in these two types of tennis matches are the number of people on the court (two vs. four) and the fact that in doubles, you are allowed to hit the ball into the alley (the two sides of the tennis court marked off by lines). Tennis is a very simple game to grasp, and it is a fun game that all can enjoy.
Serving
When serving, players stand on opposite sides of the court. The server must serve to the opposite service box (the box on the opposite side of the court, closest to the net). Serving positions change every serve. Prior to the serve, the server must stand on the base line on his half of the court. The receiver, or the person returning the serve, may stand anywhere he likes, but is not allowed to hit the ball before it bounces.
Faults occur when the server steps over the baseline before serving, if the ball fails to make it into the correct service box, or if the serve does not go over the net. Each player is allowed two chances for each serve. If the ball hits the net, but bounces over, it does not count as an attempt, but the player must retry the serve.
Game Preparation
Before every match, there is a coin toss that decides who serves first and which side each player will be on. Players switch sides every few games to ensure there is no advantage because of wind, sun, shadows or any other intangible.
Scoring
Scoring is performed by these increments: 15-30-40. When someone has no points in a game, their score is “love.” For example if the server has two points, but the receiver has none, the score is 30-love. When a player wins four volleys, they win the game. The first player to win six games wins the set, and matches are won by winning either two or three sets, depending on the rules of which the participants are abiding by.
If both players have 40 for the game, they go to a “deuce,” which is similar to overtime. The winner of the first serve in deuce gets an “advantage.” You must win by two points, regardless, so the players continue to play until someone reaches “advantage,” then gets another point. If the player with an advantage does not win the next point, it goes back to deuce.
Playing the Net
If the ball hits the net and does not go over, the player who hit the ball loses the point. If the ball hits the net, but continues to bounce on the other side, the play is still alive and the receiver must attempt to hit the ball back (assuming that the ball did not bounce out of bounds).
A player loses the point if his racket or any other body part touches the net, or if after his swing, his racket passes the invisible plane of the net.
Out of Bounds
A ball is considered out of bounds if it bounces outside the outer-most white lines. If a ball bounces on the line, the ball is considered to be legal and in play.
Penalties
Several penalties can occur throughout the game, including: touching the other side of the court, the net, or the posts that hold the net in place; carrying or catching the ball on the racket during a volley; hitting the ball twice before it goes over the net; making contact with the ball with any part of your body (excluding the racket); and throwing the racket or any other kind of verbal or physical abuse.
About this Author
Alan Bass is currently attending Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. He is majoring in psychology and minoring in business. He is also a member of the Muhlenberg College ice hockey team and is a writer for Hockey54.com, Insidehockey.com and Prohockeynews.com.
