Tennis Court Rules

Before picking up a racket to play tennis, you should understand the rules of the tennis court: identifying the lines on the court surface, the rules involving out-of-bounds and the rules involving the net.

  1. Baseline

    • If a player is standing outside of the court facing the net, the horizontal line that she is standing behind is the baseline. A tennis player must stand behind the baseline when hitting a serve. After that it doesn't matter if a player is standing behind the baseline. However, if a hit ball goes past the baseline, it is out of bounds and the opposing player gets a point.

    Sidelines

    • On the left and right side of the tennis court are two lines stretching from the baseline to the net. The inside pair of lines indicate out-of-bounds for singles matches; the outside pair of lines mark out-of-bounds for doubles matches.

    In Bounds

    • The middle part of the court is in bounds. The front half of the court is divided into two equal halves. When a player serves, she must hit into the front part of the court on the opposite side. So if she is serving from the right side of the court, she must serve into the front left section of her opponent's court.

    Out of Bounds

    • A serve that does not land in the proper section is considered a "fault." If a player gets two faults in a row, the opposing player will get a point. If a tennis player hits the ball out of bounds on a regular volley shot, the opposing player gets a point.

    Net

    • If a serve hits a net, the point will be replayed' but if the ball hits the net on a regular volley and does not go over the net, it is a point for the opposing player. If a player hits the ball off the net, but it still lands in bounds on the opponent's side, it is a point for the player that hit the shot.