Game of Lawn Tennis: Know the Rules
Tennis is considered to be a game of elite society. It is because everyone cannot afford the overall cost of the court and the equipment. Nowadays, sports clubs have tennis lawns for members. But everyone who loves tennis might not be aware of the tennis rules, which may look simple but are not.
The lawn tennis rules are quite complicated for an amateur. If you are eager to get into the tennis court, make sure, you study well about the rules and regulations. It has a precise scoring method.
Many players around the world play against each other at an international level in many tournaments and events. The Olympic Games, Grand Slam Tournaments, and other championships are held on regularly.
Grand Slam Tournaments also called the majors, are comprised of four annual tennis events. These events include:
- Australian Open
- French Open or Roland Garros
- Wimbledon Championship
- US Open
The Main Purpose of Tennis
The rules of lawn tennis are important to understand the game. But if you do not know what the game is about, then you would not understand the tennis rules at all.
First, understand the basic components:
- The tennis court
The shape of the court is rectangular. It has markings that denote the baseline, service line, sidelines for singles and doubles, and the service boxes. There is a net in between the court.
The court can be of different materials. There are clay courts, synthetic turfs, grass courts, and hard courts.
- About the objective of tennis
The objective is to hit the tennis ball in such a manner that the opposite team or individual cannot return the ball to you. When they cannot hit back the ball, the point goes to you. Also, the ball has to pass over the net before it reaches the opposite side.
Based on the Grand Slam event, the courts differ accordingly. The Wimbledon has a grass court, the French Open has a clay court, whereas the Australian Open and the US Open are played on a hard court.
This sport has attracted a lot of fans. Though it was originally played in England, it has spread its roots throughout the world. To know all about tennis, you need to know about the equipment, rules of tennis and scoring system.
What equipment and requirements are involved in a game of tennis?
- Equipment needed for a tennis player
-Tennis Racket
-Tennis Ball
-Clothes according to the said dress code
–Tennis sports shoes
- Number of players
-Singles: Can be a male or female player, that is, the same genders should play against each other.
-Doubles: Both the players can be male or female, with each team having two players of the same gender.
-Mixed Doubles: Each team should have one male and one female player.
- Markings in the game of tennis
-Tramlines: The inner tramline is for the players in a singles matches, and the outer tramline is for the players in the doubles matches.
-Sidelines: There are outer and inner parallel sidelines for doubles and singles respectively.
-Service boxes: When a player serves the ball, it is supposed to land diagonally in one of the service boxes of the opponent’s side.
How does the scoring system of tennis work?
After you know about the gameand the courts used, the next step would be getting to know the scoring system.
The gameplay and the overall sport might look easy, but there are score rules which need to be noted carefully. So there are sets of games in a match. Usually, the best of three sets or best of five sets format is used. Each set can be won by scoring four points.
There are four types of points:
- 15 (one point)
- 30 (2 points)
- 40 (3 points)
- Final point or the game point
Some extra terms used are deuce and love. Deuce is achieved when both the players scored four points each, making it 40-40. After deuce is scored, the player needs to score two points consecutively. Love denoted the starting score of zero.
Sets and Winning points
So, how many sets in tennis are needed for the win? The winning sets decide the winner of the match. There are five sets for men and three for women. The maximum sets needed to win is based on the category you are playing. The setpoint is the last point required to win a set, and the final point required to win the match is the game point.
Winning six sets will lead to your victory, provided the difference of wins between you and the opponent is of two games. But what if both the players win six sets each? Well, then the tiebreaker decides the winner. That is the one to win seven sets, in this case, is the ultimate winner.
What are the various Rules and Regulations to be followed?
The rules of the tennis game are a bit struct and complicated. But once you know how to play lawn tennis, these rules must be followed:
- The coin toss before the game starts determines who is going to serve first. The baseline is to be looked out for during the serve. Before serving, ensure that you do not cross the baseline.
- If the first serve is not successful, then the second serve can be useful. But if that serve also goes wrong, then the player loses a point based on a double fault.
- A let is called on the service if the ball after clicking the net manages to reach the service box. But an out can be called if the ball does not touch the service area after net touch. In the first case, there is a second chance given. The latter case might cause the player to lose the serve.
- The service needs to bounce in the opposite service box, and then the opponent can hit the ball back. If he/she hits the ball back earlier, then they lose a point to the server. Once the service is successful, the players can play the shots until one of them is unable to hit back.
- The scoring system is mentioned in the above section. It has to be duly followed.
- There is a loss of point in case the player causes a distraction to the opponent or touches the net.
- Once the ball hits outside the line, it is called out.
- After every six games, the ball is changed.
- These are the instances which can make the player lose a point:
-Inability to hit back the ball after the ball bounces twice on the player’s side
-The ball touches the net but does not touch the expected service box.
-The player does not hit the ball in the right area of the opponent’s half.
These long tennis rules will help the player play in a disciplined and fair manner.