Tennis is a sport that can be played either as singles or doubles. The game’s objective is to score more points and win sets faster than the opposing player or team. In the men’s game, you must win three sets, while in the women’s game, you have to win two sets. To win a set, you must win at least six games and be at least two games ahead. To win a game, you must win four points and be at least two points ahead.
The tennis court is 78ft long by 36ft wide, and the net is 3.5 ft above the ground. These are some of the other dimensions of the court, and note that the area of play is different for both singles and doubles. The game starts with one player making a serve. To do this, they must stand behind the line and hit the ball into the opponent’s court.
The opponent is allowed a maximum of one bounce to hit the ball back over the net onto the other player’s court. The idea is to hit the ball onto your opponents’ court and for your opponent not to be able to hit it back. If you manage to successfully hit the ball onto your opponents’ court without them returning the favor, you score. If you score one point, you score ’15.’ If you score two points, you score ’30.’ If you score three points, you score ’40.’ And if you score four points and are two points ahead, you win the game.
During a serve, you have two chances to serve the ball legally. You must be behind the line and hit the ball onto your opponents’ court. Should you fail to do either of those things, this is known as a fault, and you must serve the ball again. If you commit two faults in a row, this is a double fault, and your opponent is automatically awarded a point.
If a legal serve hits the net before landing in the opponent’s area, this is known as a let, and the player is allowed to serve the ball again without fault. If a player serves the ball legally, and the opponent cannot return the ball, this is known as an ‘ace.’ The serving player wins the point. During deuce, if you score one point – you are known to have an ‘advantage.’ You only need one more point to win the game unless your opponent scores.
If the games are tied at 6-6, a tiebreaker is used to determine who wins the set. Players take it in turns to serve, and the aim is to score seven points and be at least two points ahead. This carries on until someone wins the set.
Although there are many things you cannot do in tennis, such as hitting the ball outside the area of play, hitting the ball into the net and for it to land on your side of the court, hitting the ball twice in succession, touching the net, touching the ball with any part of your body except with the racket, and committing a double fault. If you commit any of these infractions, this results in your opponent being awarded a point.
It may seem a little complicated, but once you watch or play tennis, the rules will become clear. Understanding the rules of tennis is crucial to enjoy watching the tennis Olympics.