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The rules of tennis are very simple and all you need to play is a
racquet, a tennis ball, a court (with a net) and of course an opponent.
If you can't find someone to play against, you can always practice your
skills by hitting the tennis ball against a wall. Even the greats, like
Pete Sampras, began this way.
Starting the match When playing a match, toss a coin or spin the racquet to find out who
serves first. The server starts on the right hand side of the court and
serves the ball, on the full, over the net to your side of the court.
Serving The ball must land in your service area which is diagonally across from
the server. If it doesn't, a fault is called and the server is allowed
to have another attempt. If on the second serve, a fault is called again
- a double fault, the server will lose a point. If the serve touches the
net but falls into the appropriate service area, a 'let' is called and
the service is taken again. Otherwise, if it doesn't land in the service
box, it is a 'fault'. Scoring If the serve is
successful, the receiver needs to return the ball within their opponents
court area. The ball will then go back and forth - a rally, until
someone makes a mistake. Points are scored from 15 to 30 to 40 to game.
If both players are 40, it is called a deuce and the next point won is
'advantage'. If the 'advantage' player wins the next point, they win
that game. If not, it goes back to deuce and so on and so forth.
The one server serves for the duration of a game. Then the other
player serves. The first player to 6 games, and being 2 games in front
of their opponent, wins the set. A match is comprised of either 3 or 5
sets. For a 3 set match, the first player to win 2 sets wins the
match. For a 5 set match, the first player to win 3 sets wins the match.
Tie-break If both players have won 5 games, then the set
continues until someone wins 2 games more. However, if the score reaches
6 games all, a tie-break may be played. The first player to win 7
points, with a 2 point lead, wins the tie-break and therefore wins the
set. Changing ends Players change ends at the end of the
first and third games and any subsequent alternative game in each set. A
change of end at the end of a set occurs only if the total number
of games in that set is an odd number. If the number is even, the change
takes place after the first game of the new set. Doubles If you can get three
friends together, you can play 'doubles'. The rules are very similar,
but you have a little more court space.
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