Tennis 🎾

Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent’s court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.

Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and 27 feet (8.2 m) wide for singles matches and 36 ft (11 m) for doubles 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. It is held up by either a cord or metal cable of diameter no greater than 0.8 cm (1⁄3 in). The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) high in the centre. The net posts are 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the doubles court on each side or, for a singles net, 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the singles court on each side.

Men and women use the same type of equipment, however, men tend to go for heavier racquets. What a tennis player needs, at the most basic level, is a ball to hit, a racket to hit it with, and a net to hit in over.

Men and Women have different dress codes for tennis. Tennis fashion has long been a big part of the game, and it’s been embroiled with lots of controversies. Traditionally, women have played in skirts or dresses while men play in shorts.

The differences in tennis are largely down to organizational management and time on the court, but when two tennis players line up against each other, male or female, there’s still a rush of excitement as the player tosses the ball into the air and swings their racket as hard as they can, hoping to win a point.

General Rules and Regulations of Tennis

• Most tennis tournaments begin with a coin toss. Flipping a coin determines which player will serve first and which side of the court to serve from.
• The server will serve the ball and alternate sides on the base line after each point. The server’s feet must not move in front of the baseline before they stroke the ball over the net.
• Failing to get the first serve ‘in‘ means they can take advantage to play a second serve. A double fault gets called if they fail to get their second serve in. The player would lose that point.
• The player who receives the serve can position themselves anywhere they like. The ball must bounce once before returning the serve to avoid losing the point.
• General play can include an unlimited number of strokes between each other after a serve. The aim is to win the point during the rally. You score the point by hitting the ball in such a way that your opponent fails to return it to the scoring areas.
• Points in tennis get awarded in scores represented by 15, 30, and 40. According to the main rules of tennis 15 will represent 1 point, 30 means 2 points, and 40 results in 3 points. Scoring 4 points wins the game.
• Tennis games often land on a score of 40-40 (known as ‘deuce‘ in tennis terminologies). A player needs to win by two (2) consecutive points to win a game after reaching deuce. The 1st point won after a tied position of deuce is ‘advantage‘. Winning the next point means they win the game. But, losing the next point means that particular game returns to deuce.
• A player needs to win 6 games by a margin of at least 2 games to win the set. The opening sets go to a tie break if they finish at 6-6 in games played to 7 points. But, the final set does not play out the typical tie break scenario. Most tennis rules and regulations require a player to win by two clear games. There are no upper limits to playing out this scenario. The Wimbledon Tennis Tournament is famous for tense moments like these.
• You must return the ball into the scoring areas on the court to avoid losing a point. This must take place before the ball bounces twice. You also lose the point if the ball hits the net and fails to drop into the opponent’s area. Players also lose points in tennis by automatic process if:
  • They make contact with the net.
  • Distract their opponent.
  • Impede their opponent’s game in any way.
• The ball is ‘in play‘ even if it hits any part of the boundary lines. But, it gets called ‘out‘ if it lands outside the outer court lines.
• Professional regulations of tennis govern the use of new balls during a match. As a rule, old balls get changed for new balls after every 6 games.

Scoring in Tennis

Each player tries to be the first to score four points and win the game. A simple explanation of the scoring points in tennis would be:

• 15 (one point)
• 30 (two points)
• 40 (three points)
• Winning the ‘fourth point‘ would be the winning point to end that particular game. Special tennis rules apply for games scored at 40-40 (deuce).

After deuce, the player who wins the next point has advantage. If the player/team who has advantage wins the next point, then they win the game.

If the opposing player wins the next point after advantage, then the score moves back to deuce. A player/team needs to win two consecutive points after deuce to win a game.

Tennis shots

Tennis players use a variety of angles, speed and technique to hit the ball in a certain direction or to deceive their opponents to win a point. Some common tennis strokes are as follows:

Forehand and backhand

The two most common shots in tennis are the forehand and backhand. If a right-handed player extends his right hand to hit the ball from the right side of his body, it is called a forehand.

If the right-handed player brings his right hand across his body to hit a shot from the left side of his body, it is called a backhand.

The inverse applies for left-handed players.

Drop shot

When a player reduces the speed of his shot to land the ball just above the net and onto the opposite side, it is called a drop shot.

A drop shot is generally used when the opposing player is standing at the baseline and it becomes difficult for them to recover a drop shot as they have to cover quite a distance.

Smash

When a player hits a shot with all their power, generally from over their heads, such that the opposing player is unable to reach the ball, it is known as a smash.

Slice

A player hits a slice when they cut the ball with the racket facing the court at a cross angle. The slice is generally used to slow down the pace of a rally.

How many sets in tennis

In men’s singles events at Grand Slams, the matches are a best-of-five sets but in all other ATP Tour events, a men’s singles match is a best-of-three sets affair.

Men’s doubles matches, in the ATP Tour and Grand Slams, are best-of-three sets except the Wimbledon, where they are best-of-five set matches.

All women’s singles and doubles events - in Grand Slams and on the WTA Tour - are best-of-three sets matches.