Tennis rules are simple and quite basic. Before you start playing tennis, you should have a basic understanding about the equipment which is used and the rules of the game.

The Official Rules of Tennis

The goal in tennis is gaining enough points for winning the game, set or match. The highest score from three tennis games are called sets if women are playing. For men, the highest score is from five games. The highest score is selected from three or five games for both the players and the one which has the highest score will win the game or the set.

Scoring

One of the basic rules in tennis is the score keeping. Whenever a player doesn’t score, it is known as love. When a player scores, it starts at 15 and then it will go up to 30 later to 40. For example, if player one scores a point and if player two doesn’t, the score will be 15-Love. If the score goes to 40-40, it is referred to as deuce. The next player who scores 2 points will win the game. However, if the player scores only one point after the deuce, known as a receiver or advantage server, and loses the next one, the score will again go back to deuce. In some cases, the players might agree to ignore that rule and do away with it.

The Equipment

The equipment which has to be used in tennis will have to be according to the official specifications. A regulation sized tennis court would be 78 feet long and it is a part of the tennis basic rules. The court would be divided in the middle with a net which will divide it in half. The line where the player will have to serve would be at 21 feet. The tennis rackets which are used during the tournaments will have to be 32 inches in length and 11 ½ in width. The tennis balls which are used in the game are available in several colors but for official tournaments, only yellow or white ones are used.

Singles

One on one is another rule in tennis. The first person or the server who hits the ball would be chosen by spinning the racket or by tossing the coin. The player who wins will be able to elect whether or not he/she wants to server first. They can choose to serve or if they like, they can give that option to the opponent. The player will then have to choose which end to play from. To make the game fair, the player who would have to serve will be changed for every game.

Doubles

Serving is always alternated between players and teams during the game. This is done in such a way that every player will serve at every fourth game. It is also traditional for the partners to stand next to each other but they are free to stand anywhere they want.