Tennis Rules

Serve rotates through all four players in fixed order; receiving sides stay fixed within a set. Either partner may hit any ball after the return.

Players change ends after odd-numbered games (1st, 3rd, 5th…) with up to 90 seconds rest — 120 between sets.

Sets go to six games (win by two) with a 7-point tiebreak at 6–6. Rec matches commonly replace the third set with a 10-point match tiebreak.

ITF Rule 6

League matches allow a five-minute joint warm-up including practice serves; matches then begin promptly to protect court slots.

A serve that clips the net and lands in the correct box is replayed. A ball rolling onto the court or other outside hindrance is a let — replay the whole point.

The server gets two attempts per point, serving diagonally, alternating right/left courts each point. Foot faults (touching the baseline before contact) lose the serve attempt.

ITF Rules 16–18

Touching the net during the point, reaching over it (except following through), a double bounce, or a deliberate double-hit loses the point immediately.

ITF Rule 24

In tiebreaks the first server plays one point, then players alternate two-point serving turns. Coman rotation changes ends after the first point and every four after.

Games are scored 15/30/40; at deuce a player must win two straight points (ad-in/ad-out). Rec leagues frequently use No-Ad scoring — the deuce point decides, receiver picks the side.

ITF Rule 5

Without officials, each player calls lines on their own side. If you are not sure the ball was out, it was in — the USTA Code’s core principle.

USTA — The Code