Tennis - History, Rules, and Technique
and the player who receives the ball is called the receiver. When serving, the server delivers the ball from behind the baseline, and his or her feet must stay out of the court until the ball is hit. To serve, the player tosses the ball into the air and hits it with the tennis racket before it hits the ground. The ball is hit into the opponent’s service area, which is called the service box. The ball must be hit diagonally to the opponents service box. Two tries are allowed for each serve. If the ball goes out of the court or hits any other part of the court except the opponent’s service box, a fault is called. A fault is also called if the ball is served into the net. If the server’s foot enters before contact with the ball is made, a foot fault is called. The server is allowed two faults, and if another fault should occur, a double fault is called, resulting in the opponent winning the point. When serving, if the ball touches the net and falls into the correct service box, a let is called, and the server gets to serve again. If the opponent misses a valid serve, it is called an ace. Generally, the faster that a serve goes, the harder it is to return. But a faster serve makes it more difficult for the server to keep the ball under control.
When the receiver returns the serve, he or she stands a certain distance behind the service box line, usually closer to the base line. If a fast serve is served, it is better to stand behind the base line to give the receiver more time to react. The receiver then hits the ball from the left-hand service court to the opponent’s diagonally opposite service court. From there, the service side alternates until an entire game has been played. The opponent serves the next game, and the serve alternation continues. In doubles, the serves alternate between teams and between players so an individual player will serve every fourth game.
After a valid serve, the ball is hit back and forth until one player or side misses the ball or hits it out of bounds. A ball is not valid when being hit if a player lets the ball bounce more than once, hits it into the net, or hits it out of bounds on the opposite side of the court. If the ball lands on the line of the of the court, it is considered valid. If the ball hits the net and falls out of bounds on the opposite side of the court, it is considered out. If it lands on the line on the opposite side of the court, it is considered in. If a hit is considered unsuccessful, the opposing player or players scores the point.
Scoring is the same in both singles games and doubles games. A tennis game is played to forty points. The game is scored by points of [next page]