Dec 19, 2007

Frequently Asked Tennis Questions

Tennis is a sport with numerous rules and regulations, and getting them all in your head can take a while. In this article, we'll examine some commonly occurring issues regarding the game so that you can have a clearer outlook on exactly what should happen should these questions come up in a game.

Q: What should I do if a ball from another court rolls onto my court during the middle of a match?
A: The rules laid out by the International Tennis Federation state that a request by another tennis player to remove their ball from your court must be honored. However, the request doesn't need to be honored while you have a ball in play. If a player from another game hits a ball that doesn't land on your court but near the court's lines, the sportsmanship-upholding rules of the federation state that you should take time when you are not in play to retrieve the ball for the other player.

Q: Can I call my own let?
A: Lets are not allowed to be called by the player performing the service. Regardless of the situation, be it a snap of the player's racket strings or a distraction such as their hat blowing off, nothing that a player does can entitle them to call out their own let. Similarly, if a distraction occurs such as a cell phone ring while a player is serving, they are held responsible and no let should be given. The opponent of the person who is being distracted is completely in charge of whether or not their opponent should be allowed a let, and they should let sportsmanship and fairness guide their decision. However, it should be a players responsibility to ensure that any distractions will be minimized by doing such things as turning off their cellular phone. If, however, the referee doesn't state that cellular phones should be turned off before the game, in certain cases, a referee may allow a player to have a let. However, this can only happen once per game at most for any player, since after it occurs, every player should be familiar with the fact that cellular phones should be left aside. In addition, lets should not be allowed due to the sounds made by any of the audience members. Although it can be distracting, spectator noise is not the basis for the replaying of a point.

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More Commonly Asked Tennis Questions

There are so many rules in tennis that it can be tough to accurately determine who is at fault when certain situations come up. The more that you know about the sport, the better the chance you have at being able to avoid any controversy should one of the less-common situations in tennis come up.

Q: When can I call a foot foul on my opponent?
A: In a match that is not being judged by a referee, it can be difficult to determine whether or not you should call out a foot foul. Since tennis rules stipulate that the opponent should be given the benefit of the doubt in any controversial calls, foot fouls should only be called when every effort of informing the opponent about the practice has failed and the foot fouling continues to a flagrant degree.

Q: What mistakes result in a service fault?
A: Service faults can be caused by a number of factors. When a player makes a foot foul, doesn't serve from the proper area, or doesn't follow the proper form for preparing the serve, they are said to have a service fault. In addition, players that miss the ball whilst trying to serve are also said to have committed a service fault. If, after serving, the ball hits a permanent fixture of the court, such as the singles stick or the posts of the net before bouncing, a service fault is commited. Finally, when the ball touches the server or the server's partner, or any part of their clothing, before or after a serve, a service fault is said to have occurred. After the first service fault occurs, the server is expected to take their second serve without delay as to ensure that they are not simply buying time to rest.
Service should be performed by the serving party within 20 seconds, or they will incur a time violation.

Q: What determines a let?
A: A let occurs most often when, during service, the ball touches the net and lands on the opponent's side of the court. There are a few other situations that merit a let, including the unlikely situation in which the ball hits one of the receivers or an article of their clothing before bouncing. Also, if the ball is served before the receiver is ready, a let occurs. The service is considered to have never occurred, and it does not change the results of any prior faults on the part of the server.

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Commonly Asked Tennis Questions

With all the odd scoring and numerous rules surrounding tennis, it's no wonder that people sometimes confuse the rules. To that end, we've created this article to help you to know the answer to some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the game of tennis. All rules discussed in this article reflect the stance of the International Tennis Federation, a governing party of the sport.

Q: What happens when the ball bounces off of a line on the court?
A: When a ball bounces off of a line on the court, it is generally considered to be a bounce on the inside of the court that it is protecting. If your opponent hits a ball right around the outside line, and you cannot for sure determine that the ball is out, general rules stipulate that the opponent should be given the benefit of the doubt and they should receive the point.

Q: What happens if I hit a ball that hits the net post or another court entity and then bounces onto the opponents side of the court?
A: If you hit a ball off of either the net post, the scoring device, or any other outside entity besides the net before bouncing onto your opponent's side, you lose the point due to the fact that the ball hit a permanent fixture before landing on the opponent's side of the court.

Q: When should players change what side they are playing on?
A: Players should switch sides of the court after every six points and after a Tiebreak. During the tiebreak, the change must be made immediately with no opportunity for break or delay.

Q: What's a foot fault? How can one be called for a foot fault?
A: A foot fault occurs when a player's feet are at rest before hitting the ball, but they are moved before the shot so that a foot hits one of the following positions:
- the court, including the baseline
- any part of the imaginary extension of the outer mark
- anywhere beyond the imaginary extension found outside of the singles guideline or the doubles guideline, depending on the match type.
To avoid being called for a foot foul, you should ensure that your server is relaxed and stationary. This means that you should avoid any type of serve that involves more than one foot's movement to avoid being called for the foul.

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The Basic Rules of Tennis

Thinking of starting to play tennis? Tennis is a great sport that requires mental preparation and physical agility. The first part of being able to play the game properly is understanding the rules, and in this article, we'll be discussing what are commonly agreed upon as the official rules of tennis. The rules that we will discuss are based on the provided courtesy of the International Tennis Federation.

THE COURT - Tennis should be played on a court that is built to certain specifications. The court should be 78 feet long. For a singles match, the court should be 27 feet in width, and for doubles matches, the court's width should be 36 feet. The net should be composed of a net with a cord of metal cable supporting it at a height of 3 and a half feet. Service lines should be placed 21 feet from each side of the net, designating the area in which serving should be performed.

THE RACKET - The rackets used in tennis should only have one pair of crisscrossing strings. Vibration dampening devices are allowed on the rackets, but they can only be placed outside of the strings. No devices that incorporate batteries to help your play are allowed.

THE SCORING - Tennis is a unique game in that it has special names given to the various points awarded. When calling out the score, the person serving the ball should always say their score first. A score of zero is called out by saying ‘Love', and from there, the points go to 15, 30, 40, and game. If both players get a score of 40, the game must become a tie-breaker, and a 40-40 score is announced by saying ‘Deuce'. In a ‘Deuce' situation, if a player gets a point, they are said to have ‘Advantage'. If a player with an ‘Advantage' gets another point, the game is over. If a player gets a point while the other has ‘Advantage', the score is reset to ‘Deuce'. When a game is won, another game is begun until someone gets the best of 7 games. One catch is that they must win by two. If, at the end of 7 games, a player is up 4 to 3, another match must be held as winning by two is necessary. If a player takes the best of 7 games, winning by 2, they are said to have won the match.

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