Tennis Rules

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of the game of
tennis and its duties and responsibilities include protecting the integrity of the game through determination of the Rules of Tennis.

To assist the ITF in carrying out this responsibility, the ITF has appointed a Rules of Tennis Committee, which continually monitors the game and its rules and, when considered necessary, makes recommendations for changes to the Board of Directors of the ITF, who in turn make recommendations to the Annual General Meeting of the ITF, which is the ultimate authority for making any changes to the Rules of Tennis.

Appendix VI lists approved alternative procedures and scoring methods. In addition, on its own behalf or on application by interested parties, certain variations to the rules may be approved by the ITF for trial purposes only at a limited number of tournaments or events and/or for a limited time period. Such variations are not included in the published rules and require a report to the ITF on the conclusion of the approved trial.

The court shall be a rectangle, 78 feet (23.77 m) long and, for singles matches, 27 feet (8.23 m) wide. For doubles matches, the court shall be 36 feet (10.97 m) wide. The court shall be divided across the middle by a net suspended by a cord or metal cable which shall pass over or be attached to two net posts at a height of 3 ½ feet (1.07 m). The net shall be fully extended so that it completely fills the space between the two net posts, and it must be of sufficiently small mesh to ensure that a ball cannot pass through it. The height of the net shall be 3 feet (0.914 m) at the centre, where it shall be held down tightly by a strap. A band shall cover the cord or metal cable and the top of the net. The strap and band shall be completely white.
• The maximum diameter of the cord or metal cable shall be 1/3 inch (0.8 cm).
• The maximum width of the strap shall be 2 inches (5 cm).
• The band shall be between 2 inches (5 cm) and 2½ inches (6.35 cm) deep on
each side.
For doubles matches, the centres of the net posts shall be 3 feet (0.914 m) outside the doubles court on each side. For singles matches, if a singles net is used, the centres of the net posts shall be 3 feet (0.914 m) outside the singles court on each side. If a doubles net is used, then the net shall be supported, at a height of 3½ feet (1.07 m), by two singles sticks, the centres of which shall be 3 feet (0.914 m) outside the singles court on each side.
• The net posts shall not be more than 6 inches (15 cm) square or 6 inches (15 cm)
in diameter.
• The singles sticks shall not be more than 3 inches (7.5 cm) square or 3 inches
(7.5 cm) in diameter.
• The net posts and singles sticks shall not be more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the
top of the net cord.
The lines at the ends of the court are called baselines and the lines at the sides of the court are called sidelines. Two lines shall be drawn between the singles sidelines, 21 feet (6.40 m) from each side of the net, parallel with the net. These lines are called the servicelines. On each side of the net, the area between the serviceline and the net shall be divided into two equal parts, the service courts, by the centre serviceline. The centre serviceline shall be drawn parallel with the singles sidelines and half-way between them. Each baseline shall be divided in half by a centre mark, 4 inches (10 cm) in length, which shall be drawn inside the court and parallel with the singles sidelines.
• The centre serviceline and centre mark shall be 2 inches (5 cm) wide. 3
• The other lines of the court shall be between 1 inch (2.5 cm) and 2 inches (5 cm) wide, except that the baselines may be up to 4 inches (10 cm) wide.
All court measurements shall be made to the outside of the lines and all lines of the court shall be of the same colour clearly contrasting with the colour of the surface. No advertising is allowed on the court, net, strap, band, net posts or singles sticks except as provided in Appendix V. In addition to the court described above, the court designated as “Red” and the court designated as “Orange” in Appendix VIII can be used for 10 and under tennis competition.
Note: Guidelines for minimum distances between the baseline and backstops and between the sidelines and sidestops can be found in Appendix X.

The permanent fixtures of the court include the backstops and sidestops, the spectators, the stands and seats for spectators, all other fixtures around and above the court, the chair umpire, line umpires, net umpire and ball persons when in their recognised positions.
In a singles match played with a doubles net and singles sticks, the net posts and the part of the net outside the singles sticks are permanent fixtures and are not considered as net posts or part of the net.
Case 1: Can objects be attached to the net post?
Decision: Yes, provided that these objects are reasonable in size and placement and approved as Player Analysis Technology. As a guide, attachments should not be more than 50 cm wide (parallel to the net), 40 cm deep (perpendicular to the net) and 122 cm in height. Attachments should be placed so that they do not extend more than 10 cm inside the net post and not extend more than 20 cm above the net post or extend more than 20 cm from the plane of the net.

Balls, which are approved for play under the Rules of Tennis, must comply with the specifications in Appendix I.
The International Tennis Federation shall rule on the question of whether any ball or prototype complies with Appendix I or is otherwise approved, or not approved, for play. Such ruling may be taken on its own initiative or upon application by any party with a bona fide interest therein, including any player, equipment manufacturer or National Association or members thereof. Such rulings and applications shall be made in accordance with the applicable Review and Hearing Procedures of the International Tennis Federation (see Appendix XII).
The event organisers must announce in advance of the event:
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a. The number of balls for play (2, 3, 4 or 6).
b. The ball change policy, if any.
Ball changes, if any, can be made either:
i. After an agreed odd number of games, in which case, the first ball change in the match shall take place two games earlier than for the rest of the match, to make allowance for the warm-up. A tie-break game counts as one game for the ball change. A ball change shall not take place at the beginning of a tie-break game:
in this case, the ball change shall be delayed until the beginning of the second game of the next set; or ii. At the beginning of a set If a ball gets broken during play, the point shall be replayed.
Case 1: If a ball is soft at the end of a point, should the point be replayed?
Decision: If the ball is soft, not broken, the point shall not be replayed.
Note: Any ball to be used in a tournament which is played under the Rules of Tennis must be named on the official ITF list of approved balls issued by the International Tennis Federation.

Rackets, which are approved for play under the Rules of Tennis, must comply with the specifications in Appendix II.
The International Tennis Federation shall rule on the question of whether any racket or prototype complies with Appendix II or is otherwise approved, or not approved, for play. Such ruling may be undertaken on its own initiative or upon application by any party with a bona fide interest therein, including any player, equipment manufacturer or National Association or members thereof. Such rulings and
applications shall be made in accordance with the applicable Review and Hearing Procedures of the International Tennis Federation (see Appendix XII).
Case 1: Is more than one set of strings allowed on the hitting surface of a racket?
Decision: No. The rule mentions a pattern (not patterns) of crossed strings. (See Appendix II)
Case 2: Is the stringing pattern of a racket considered to be generally uniform and flat if the strings are on more than one plane?
Decision: No.
Case 3: Can vibration damping devices be placed on the strings of a racket? If so, where can they be placed?
Decision: Yes, but these devices may only be placed outside the pattern of the crossed strings.
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Case 4: During a point, a player accidentally breaks the strings. Can the player continue to play another point with this racket?
Decision: Yes, except where specifically prohibited by event organisers.
Case 5: Is a player allowed to use more than one racket at any time during play?
Decision: No.
Case 6: Can a battery that affects playing characteristics be incorporated into a racket?
Decision: No. A battery is prohibited because it is an energy source, as are solar cells and other similar devices.

a. Standard game
A standard game is scored as follows with the server’s score being called first:
No point – “Love”
First point – “15”
Second point – “30”
Third point – “40”
Fourth point – “Game”
except that if each player/team has won three points, the score is “Deuce”.
After “Deuce”, the score is “Advantage” for the player/team who wins the next point. If that same player/team also wins the next point, that player/team wins the “Game”; if the opposing player/team wins the next point, the score is again “Deuce”. A player/team needs to win two consecutive points immediately after “Deuce” to win the “Game”.
b. Tie-break game
During a tie-break game, points are scored “Zero”, “1”, “2”, “3”, etc. The first player/team to win seven points wins the “Game” and “Set”, provided there is a margin of two points over the opponent(s). If necessary, the tie-break game shall continue until this margin is achieved.
The player whose turn it is to serve shall serve the first point of the tie-break game. The following two points shall be served by the opponent(s) (in doubles, the player of the opposing team due to serve next). After this, each player/team shall serve alternately for two consecutive points until the end of the tie-break game (in doubles, the rotation of service within each team shall continue in the same order as during that set).
The player/team whose turn it was to serve first in the tie-break game shall be the receiver in the first game of the following set.
Additional approved alternative scoring methods can be found in Appendix VI.