Tennis Rules

Tennis Rules

By Grace Wallace

​The tennis court has several lines on it - it's important to know the names of these lines and what they mean to know where to stand, serve, and when a ball goes in or out of bounds. ​

Try to memorize the names of the lines in the picture here!​

Tennis Court

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The baseline is at the end of each side of the court. Most of the time, you will want to stand at or behind the baseline during play so you can more easily cover the court. You must stand behind the baseline when serving.

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Notice the player is standing at the baseline while wariting for the ball to be hit

Baseline:

There are TWO sidelines in tennis. When playing singles, you must keep the ball inside the singles lines on both sides of the court. In doubles, you ignore the singles lines and the ball just needs to land in the green part of the court.

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Notice the singles court is SMALLER than a doubles court because only ONE person plays in a singles game

Sidelines

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The service box tells you were to SERVE the ball. You must hit your serve over the net and into the OPPOSITE service box (diagonally). The service box is the same for singles AND doubles!

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Notice the singles court is SMALLER than a doubles court because only ONE person plays in a singles game

Service Box

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You probably already know that a ball is "OUT" if it hits outside of the proper lines and the point is over. But if the ball actually HITS the line - even if just by a tiny bit - it is IN and you have to keep playing.

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What if a ball hits the line?​

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Multiple Choice

What line should you try to stand on or behind to be ready to hit the ball when it comes over the net?

• Doubles Sideline

• Singles Sideline

• Service Box

• Baseline

Multiple Choice

Imagine you are playing singles, and the ball hits on the E shown in the picture. Is the ball in or out?

• In

• Out

Multiple Choice

Is this ball in or out in a game of tennis?

• In

• Out

How to Play...

The basics!​

The object of the game

In tennis, to win a match, you need to win 1 or more sets (2 in Varsity and 1 in JV). To win a set, you need to win at least ​6 games. To win games, you need to win points.

​Winning your match helps earn the team a a point.

Game - Set - Match

​Player	​Set 1	Set 2	Set
1​	​4 games	​2 games	​Don't need to play
2​	6 games	6 games (Winner!)​	​

​Player	​Set 1	Set 2	Set 3 (Tiebreak!)
1​	​4 games	​6 games	​Play a tiebreaker
2​	6 games	3​ games	​First to 7 pts

Try to memorize these names!

You win games by winning at least 4 points. In tennis, the points have weird names.​​

Multiple Choice

What is the term when you win overall in tennis?

• Point

• Game

• Set

• Match

Multiple Choice

In varsity, you need to win 2 _______ to win the match.

• Points

• Games

• Sets

• Matches

Multiple Choice

How many games do you need to win to win a set in tennis?

• 4

• 2

• 6

• 1

How to Play...

Game time stuff

They will call out the score before each point. They will also switch the side they serve from on each point.

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Always START on the right (deuce) side. Switch servers at the END of a game.

One person serves for the WHOLE game

​So after game 1, game 3, game 5, etc

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You will switch

​sides of the court after ODD games.

What will a match look like?

We will always start with Varsity match-ups.

• 6 individual singles matches

• 3 doubles matches

The singles matches will usually p​lay first. If enough courts, the 1 & 2 JV singles will also start ~ 3:30.

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Doubles matches will happen AFTER singles is done​

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What will a match look like?

You will need to be there for the ENTIRE team match. If you miss your match, you will have to forfeit!

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Not everyone will travel to away matches. We will only have 14 seats on the bus so only 14 girls will travel. For our JV spots, we may move people in and out so everyone gets a chance to travel. ​

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What will a match look like?

You can ride HOME with a parent or guardian from an away match, but I will need to have their signature (or a note if you're going home with a teammate) before you leave. You MUST ride the bus to the match.

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