Ignorance is bliss...

Confession of a (closet) tennis fan

Hi. My name is Alicia. And I love tennis. I can’t play for shit. But i lovvvvvve everything about the sport. 

So I am sitting here watching the US Open, the last major of the year, and I realized I don’t know most the official rules and regulations of the game. Hence the following post.

Maybe I should have called this post “Tennis for Dummies??” ::shrugs::

Side note: Yes, I am well aware that football has begun and that I am probably the only person in the world who gives a single fuck about tennis at this moment (besides the people actually playing). But trust me, there will be plenty of football posts in the next few months because I know even less about that sport.

General

The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England in the late 19th century as “lawn tennis.”  After its creation, lawn tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world.

The rules of tennis have not changed much since the 1890s besides a few updated rules. Between 1908 and 1970s, 2 rules were added (the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times and the adoption of the tie-break). A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the line (or chair) umpire’s call of a point. Players have unlimited opportunity to challenge, but once three incorrect challenges are made in a set, they cannot challenge again until the next set. If the set goes to a tie break, players are given one additional opportunity to challenge the call. This electronic review, currently called Hawk-Eye, is available at a limited number of high-level ATP and WTA tournaments.

Grand Slam tournaments

The 4 Grand Slam tournaments are considered to be the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. They are held each year and include, in order, the Australian Open (January), the French Open (May/June), Wimbledon - my fav (June/July), and the US Open(August/September).

Manner of play

The dimensions of a tennis court

The court is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide for singles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. The net is 3’ 6” high at the posts and 3’ high in the center.

Lines

The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of the court).

The short mark in the center of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the center mark.

The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines. These are the boundaries used when doubles is being played.

The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines and are used as boundaries in singles play.

The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline is called the doubles alley, which is considered playable in doubles play.

The line that runs across the center of a player’s side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player stands when making a serve.

The line dividing the service line in two is called the center line or center service line.

The boxes the center line creates are called the service boxes; depending on a player’s position, he or she will have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the line or the area inside the lines upon its first bounce.

All the lines are required to be between 1” and 2” in width. The baseline can be up to 4” wide if so desired.

Play of a single point

The players start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server, and the opposing player is the receiver. Service alternates game by game between the two players (or teams.) For each point, the server starts behind their baseline, between the center mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve, although the receiver must play to the pace of the server.

In a legal service (a fancy way to say serve), the ball travels past the net (without touching it) and into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this is a let or net service, which is void, and the server gets to retake that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that falls long or wide of the service box, or does not clear the net. There is also a “foot fault”, which occurs when a player’s foot touches the baseline or an extension of the center mark before the ball is hit. If the second service is also a fault, the server double faults, and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service.

A legal service starts a rally, in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of the player or team hitting the ball before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except the net, provided that it still falls in the server’s court. A player or team cannot hit the ball twice in a row. The ball must travel past the net into the other players’ court. A ball that hits the net during a rally is still considered a legal return. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point.

Scoring

A tennis match is determined through the best of 3 or 5 sets. On the professional circuit, women play 3 set matches, while men play 5 set matches. For men, the first player to win three sets wins the match, and for women, the first player to win two sets wins the match. A set consists of games, and games, in turn, consist of points.

A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least 4 points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner specific to tennis: scores from 0 to 3 points are described as “love”, “fifteen”, “thirty”, and “forty,” respectively. If at least 3 points have been scored by each player, making the player’s scores equal at forty apiece, the score is called “deuce.” If at least 3 points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is “advantage” for the player in the lead. 

A game point occurs in tennis whenever the player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point).  Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by the chair umpire in tournament play. 

A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server, has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with the server being expected to win games in which they are serving. A receiver who has 1 (score of 30-40), 2 (score of 15–40) or 3 (score of love-40) consecutive chances to win the game has break point, double break point or triple break point, respectively. If the receiver does, in fact, win their break point, the game is awarded to the receiver, and the receiver is said to have converted their break point. If the receiver fails to win their break point it is called a failure to convert. Winning break points, and thus the game, is also referred to as breaking serve, as the receiver has disrupted, or broken the natural advantage of the server. If in the following game, the server, who is now the receiver, also wins a break point, it is often referred to as breaking back.

A set consists of a sequence of games played with serves alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins the game, a tie-break is played. A tie-break, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. Only in the final sets of matches at the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympic Games, Davis Cup, and Fed Cup are tie-breaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two-game lead.

In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase “Game, set, match” followed by the winning person’s or team’s name. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player’s score first, even if the winning player loses set(s) during the match (e.g., “6-2, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5”).

Surfaces

There are five types of court surface used in professional play. Each surface is different in the speed and height of the bounce of the ball. The same surface plays faster indoors than outdoors.

Clay - Examples are red clay (used at the French Open) and green clay (an example of which is Har-Tru and used mainly in the U.S.). Clay courts normally have a slower paced ball and a fairly true bounce with more spin.

Hard - Examples are acrylic (e.g. Plexicushion used at the Australian Open, DecoTurf used at the US Open), asphalt, and concrete. Hardcourts typically have a faster-paced ball with a very true bounce.

Grass - Used at Wimbledon. Grass courts usually have a faster-paced ball, and a more erratic bounce. Wimbledon has slowed its courts over the years.

Carpet - Any form of removable court covering, including carpeting and artificial turf. The bounce can be higher or lower than a hard court.

Wood - Popular from the 1880s through the first half of the 20th century, there are no longer any professional tournaments held on wood.

Officials

In most professional play, there is an officiating head judge or chair umpire, who sits in a raised chair to one side of the court. The umpire has absolute authority to make factual determinations. The umpire may be assisted by line judges, who determine whether the ball has landed within the required part of the court and who also call foot faults. There also may be a net judge who determines whether the ball has touched the net during service. In some tournaments, certain line judges, usually those who would be calling the serve, are replaced by electronic sensors that beep when an out call would have been made. In some tournaments, electric line calls are not made, but rather are used to assist the linespeople. When a ball lands in a spot where the linesperson is not sure if the ball was in or out, a noise is made that only linespeople can hear (because they are wearing headsets), and helps them to make the call. 

The referee, who is usually located off the court, is the final authority about tennis rules. When called to the court by a player or team captain, the referee may overrule the umpire’s decision if the tennis rules were violated (question of law) but may not change the umpire’s decision on a question of fact. If, however, the referee is on the court during play, the referee may overrule the umpire’s decision.

Ball boys and girls are used to retrieve balls, pass them to the players, and hand players their towels. They have no adjudicative role. 

Shots

A competent tennis player has eight basic shots in his or her repertoire: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley, overhead, drop shot, and lob. Here is a description of a few of the shots.

Serve - A serve (more formally known as “service”) in tennis is a shot to start a point. The serve is initiated by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net. The serve may be hit under- or overhand. 

A winning serve that is not touched by the opponent is called an “ace”.

Forehand - For a right-handed player, the forehand is a stroke that begins on the right side of the body, continues across the body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the left side of the body. Most forehands are generally executed with one hand holding the racquet, but there have been fine players with two-handed forehands. 

Backhand - For right-handed players, the backhand is a stroke that begins on the left side of their body, continues across their body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the right side of their body. It can be executed with either one hand or with both and is generally considered more difficult to master than the forehand.  

Other shots - A volley is a shot returned to the opponent in mid-air before the ball bounces, generally performed near the net, and is usually made with a stiff-wristed punching motion to hit the ball into an open area of the opponent’s court.

The half volley is made by hitting the ball on the rise just after it has bounced, once again generally in the vicinity of the net.

The swinging volley is hit out of the air as the player approaches the net. It is an offensive shot used to take preparation time away from the opponent, as it returns the ball into the opponent’s court much faster than a standard volley. 

Source: wikipedia.com