🎾 Stuff Every Tennis Player Should Know: Training Guide

Counting points in a game

Tennis does not use plain numbers for the first points of a standard game. Zero points is called love, the first point is 15, the second is 30, and the third is 40.

When the score is announced, the server's score is always said first. So 30 to 15 means the server has 30 and the receiver has 15.

When both players have the same score, players say all, such as 30 all for two points each. The only tied score with its own name is 40 all, which is called deuce.

The score after 30 is not 45. It is 40. A player who wins four points before the opponent wins three takes the game without any deuce.

Deuce and advantage

When both players or teams have won three points, the score is deuce. From deuce, a player must win two points in a row to win the game.

The player who wins the point after deuce has the advantage. If the server has it, people often say ad in. If the receiver has it, people often say ad out.

If the player with the advantage loses the next point, the score goes back to deuce. A game can go back to deuce many times, and under normal rules there is no limit.

No-ad scoring skips advantage. At deuce, one deciding point is played and the winner of that point wins the game. In most no-ad games the receiver chooses the side for the deciding point. In mixed doubles, the receiver must be the player of the server's gender.

Sets and matches

To win a normal set, a player or team must win six games and be ahead by two. A score of 6 to 4 wins, but 6 to 5 does not. The set can go to 7 to 5.

In a tie-break set, if the score reaches six games all, a tie-break game is played. The tie-break winner takes the set 7 to 6. The other kind of set, called an advantage set, has no tie-break and continues until someone leads by two games.

A match can be best of three sets or best of five sets. In best of three you need two sets to win. In best of five you need three sets.

Since 2022, all four Grand Slams settle a final set at 6 games all with a 10 point tie-break. The winner needs 10 points and a two point lead. The Australian Open used this final set tie-break first, starting in 2019.

Tie-break scoring

A standard tie-break is won by the first player or team to reach seven points with a two point lead. If the score reaches 6 all, the tie-break continues until one side is two points ahead.

During a tie-break, points are called zero, 1, 2, 3 and so on, not love, 15, 30, 40. This is the one time official rules use the word zero instead of love.

A tie-break can end with scores like 7 to 5, 8 to 6, or even 16 to 14 because of the win by two rule.

Where to stand and aim on the serve

In every standard game the server starts from behind the right half of the court and alternates sides after each point. Players often call the right side the deuce court and the left side the ad court.

A serve must land in the service box diagonally opposite the server. Serving from the right side means aiming at the receiver's right box, crosscourt. After the serve is returned, the rally may land anywhere inside the singles or doubles court.

In singles the server must stand between the center mark and the singles sideline. Standing behind the doubles alley is allowed only in doubles. Stepping outside the imaginary extension of the sideline during the service motion is a foot fault.

Faults, lets and double faults

A server gets two tries to put the ball in. If both attempts are faults, it is a double fault and the server loses the point. Many players hit a big first serve and a safer, slower second serve.

Under standard ITF rules, a serve that touches the net and lands in the correct box is a let. That serve is taken again. The ITF also approves a No Let alternative in which that serve stays in play.

If you miss the first serve and then hit a let on the second serve, you are still on your second serve. A service let only replays that one serve, it does not cancel a previous fault.

A foot fault happens when the server's foot touches the baseline or the court before the ball is hit. Jumping is allowed, so one or both feet may be off the ground.

A serve that does not touch the net and hits the ready receiver before it bounces wins the point for the server. The same rule applies if the serve hits the receiver's partner in doubles before bouncing.

Court lines and sizes

The service line is drawn 21 feet from each side of the net. The space between that line and the net is split by the center service line to make two service boxes. The whole court is 78 feet long, so the baseline is 39 feet from the net.

A singles court is 27 feet wide. A doubles court is 36 feet wide. The extra strips on each side are called doubles alleys, and each alley is 4.5 feet wide.

A ball that touches any part of a line counts as a ball that landed in the area next to that line. Even the smallest contact with paint means the shot is in, since the lines themselves are inside the playing area.

Tie-break serving and receiving serve

In a tie-break, the first server serves only one point. Then the other side serves the next two points, and after that the serve rotates in blocks of two. After the tie-break, the player who returned first serves the opening game of the next set.

The receiver must let the serve bounce. Returning the serve before it bounces loses the point. After the serve, players may volley the ball in the air during the rally.

A receiver must not catch or hit a serve that is clearly going long before it bounces. If a stray ball rolls onto the court during a rally and a let is called, the whole point is replayed with a first serve, which is different from a service let.

During the rally

You may let the ball bounce once, or hit it before it bounces. If it bounces twice on your side before you return it, you lose the point. Wheelchair tennis is the big exception: players there are allowed two bounces.

While the ball is live, any contact with the net, posts or straps by your body, racket or clothing costs you the point, even if it is accidental. Once the ball is dead, such as after it bounces twice or lands out, touching the net no longer causes a penalty.

You must wait for the ball to come over to your side before hitting it. Hitting it before it has passed the net loses the point. One exception is when the ball bounces on your side and spins or blows back over the net, then you may reach over to play it without touching the net.

A return is good when your racket passes over the net after hitting the ball on your own side and the ball lands in. Just do not touch the net or your opponent's court.

During a rally, a ball that clips the net, goes over and lands in the correct court is a good return. A ball can even go around the outside of the net post, below the top of the net, and still be good if it lands in.

Changing ends

Players change ends after game one, game three, game five and every other odd game of a set. This makes sun and wind affect both sides fairly.

If a set ends with an even number of games, the players change ends after the first game of the next set instead.

In a tie-break, players change ends after every six points played. Some events use an approved alternative of changing after the first point and then every four points instead.

Calling lines in your own match

In an unofficiated match, each player calls lines on their own side of the net. In doubles, either partner may make a call, but the one looking down the line usually sees it best.

Make all calls promptly, right away. A late call gives you two chances to win the point. A late let claim does not count if you chose to play the ball first.

If you are not sure whether a shot was out, call it in. Any doubt goes to your opponent. If you ask your opponent and neither of you has an opinion, the ball is good.

Do not call a ball out unless you clearly see space between where the ball hits and the line. If any part touches the line, it is good. A ball that is 99 percent out is still 100 percent good.

Fair play with other people

A spectator never makes line calls. You may ask your opponent for an opinion on a call. If your opponent gives a clear opinion, you accept it.

Walk behind a court only between points, after the point ends. Crossing during a point distracts the players. Start and end a match with a warm greeting or handshake.

If a ball rolls over from the next court while they are mid-point, wait for their point to end, then return the ball directly to one of the players, preferably the server.

If you realize you made a wrong call, reverse it. The point goes to your opponent and is not replayed. If a receiver reverses a fault call on a serve that hit the net, the server gets two serves.

Groundstrokes: forehand and backhand

For a right-handed player, the forehand is the stroke for balls on the right side of the body. For a left-handed player, it is the left side. Forehands are commonly hit one-handed.

The backhand is on the left side for a right-hander. A backhand may be hit with one hand or two hands.

On a two-handed backhand, coaches call the top hand the driver and the bottom hand the passenger.

Net shots and special shots

A volley is a shot hit before the ball bounces. Players usually volley near the net. In doubles, a poach is when a net player hits a ball their partner would normally have played.

An overhead is a high ball hit above your head in a motion like an overhand serve. It often answers a lob. A hard overhead shot is called a smash.

A drop shot is a soft short shot placed just over the net. It uses backspin and makes the opponent sprint forward.

Spin and the continental grip

Topspin makes the ball rotate forward. A swing from low to high brushes up the back of the ball to create it. Using topspin on groundstrokes allows a larger safety margin.

A slice is a shot that puts backspin on the ball, made with a high to low swing. A drop shot also uses backspin.

The continental grip is commonly used for volleys, the serve, the slice backhand and the overhead. To find it, hold the racket so you look at its thin edge, not the strings.

The Lob: A High Arcing Shot

A lob is a high, arcing shot that lifts the ball over the head of an opponent who has come to the net.

Do not confuse a lob with an approach shot. An approach shot is hit just before a player comes to the net, while a lob is used to go over an opponent who is already at the net.

The four Grand Slams and their courts

The four Grand Slam tournaments are the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. They all play under one Official Grand Slam Rule Book.

The Australian Open is played on cushioned acrylic hard courts in Melbourne. Until 2008, the Australian Open's surface was Rebound Ace.

Roland-Garros, the French Open, uses red clay courts in Paris. The clay surface includes a layer of crushed red brick.

Wimbledon is played on grass at the All England Club, which has 18 Championships grass courts. Since 2001, Wimbledon's courts have been sown with 100 percent perennial ryegrass.

How the surfaces play

Red clay usually plays slower than grass and hard courts. Roland-Garros says red dirt makes tennis slower and more tactical. The red top layer at Roland-Garros is crushed brick only 1 to 2 millimetres thick.

On Wimbledon's grass courts, the amount a ball bounces is largely determined by the soil under the grass, not the grass itself. Changing the seed mix did not change the court's speed.

Wimbledon's grass is cut to 8 millimetres during the playing season.

Warm up and hot weather

Start a tennis session with a gradual warm-up. It raises body temperature and blood flow to muscles, and it may lower muscle soreness and injury risk. If you stretch, do it after the warm-up, when muscles are warm.

The standard official tennis warm-up is a maximum of five minutes, unless event organisers decide otherwise. In unofficiated USTA play, The Code suggests giving your opponent a warm-up of five to ten minutes.

On hot days, drink plenty of fluids all day. Carry a water bottle, drink it and refill it throughout the day. Light yellow or clear urine usually means you are drinking enough water.

Stop and cool down if you feel dizzy, nauseous or weak. These can be signs your body is overheating. Stay in the shade when you can and get medical care if needed.

Tennis elbow and getting help

Tennis elbow causes pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow at the lateral epicondyle. The medical name is lateral epicondylitis.

Tennis elbow usually comes from overuse of the forearm extensor tendons, often from repeated wrist and arm motions. Tiny tears in the tendon cause the pain. Most people who get tennis elbow do not play tennis.

If rest, ice and pain relievers do not ease elbow pain, talk to a health care provider. Tennis elbow often gets better on its own, and physical therapy may help if self-care does not.

To reduce tennis elbow risk, use proper technique and a racket that fits. Playing more than two hours a day also raises the risk.