Basic Rules For Playing Tennis

Here are the basic rules for playing tennis. Tennis is a game for every one. These days, tennis is more popular than ever.

1. Opponents stand at opposite sides of the court. The player who delivers the ball to start the point is called the server. The player who stands opposite and cross-court from the server is the receiver.
2. The right to serve, receive, choose a side, or give the opponent the right to choose is decided by a toss of a coin or racquet. Once the receiver is chosen, the opponent chooses which side to start.
3. The server must stand behind the baseline on the deuce court within the boundaries of the singles court when playing singles and within the doubles sideline when playing doubles.  If the server misses his target twice, he loses the point. If the ball hits the net and goes in the correct service box, another serve is granted. If the server steps on the baseline before contact is made, the serve is deemed a fault.
4. Before serving, the receiver has to acknowledge that he is ready. The receiver can stand where he likes but must let the ball bounce in the service box. If the ball does not land in the service box, it is deemed a fault and a second serve is given. If the ball is hit by the receiver  before the ball bounces, the server wins the point.
5. The server always calls his score first. If the server wins the first point, he gets a score of fifteen.  Love means zero in tennis. The second point is called 30. The third point is called 40  and game is won when the score goes back to love. If the score is 40-40, also known as deuce, one player must win by two points. Advantage-In means if the server wins the next point, he wins the game. Advantage-Out means the receiver has a chance to win the game on the next point.
6. If the ball goes into the net, or outside the boundaries of the court, the player who hit that ball loses the point. If the ball hits the net during the point and goes into the opponents court, the ball is in play. A player loses the point if he touches the net, drops his racquet while hitting the ball or bounces the ball over the net.
7. Games equal one. The first to win six games by two, wins the set. The first to win two sets wins the match. If the score is tied at six, a tie-breaker is played. This is scored by one's. The first player or  team to score seven points winning by two wins the set. The tiebreaker continues until one side wins by two. This is what the phrase Game-Set-Match.

These are the basic rules of tennis. Once you get these down you are one step closer to becoming a tennis expert!