Lawn tennis is one of the most common games on the Eurasian continent. Lawn tennis is played both at professional and amateur tournaments.

The game as we know it today, including the rules and the format of submission, was formed only in 1874, in England. Before that, the rules of the game of lawn tennis were radically different. Moreover, in the first versions of the game on the court, rackets were not even used. The ball was fought off with the help of special gloves or even just bare hands, in fact, that was the pitch. And on the big field there were not even two pairs of players, not a single pair, but as many as 12 people. In general, lawn tennis has a very interesting history of formation as a professional game. And you can read about this in our other materials. And now you and I will need to focus as much as possible on the rules of the game of lawn tennis. On what are the variants of the game, depending on the coverage and other factors. What are the rules and techniques of successful submission and many other nuances.

We will discuss with you the rules of the game of lawn tennis as briefly as possible, however in as much detail as possible. In fact, to understand the essence of this game, all its nuances from the first pitch to the last, you need to read a book the size of “War and Peace”. But if you are not ready to spend so much time for this venture yet, let’s start with the basics of the rules of singles or doubles tennis, submission options, equipment, age limits. Shall we begin?

The rules of the traditional game of lawn tennis since 2009

The modern rules of the game of lawn tennis were formed in 2009. The game is played on a field called a court. Its length is always constant — 23 m . 77 cm . But as for the width, if two pairs play lawn tennis, the width of the court reaches almost 11 m (10.97). If a pair of players interact (this is a single game, not to be confused with a pair, where 2 by 2), then the width of the platform is 8 m 23 cm. The net through which the ball flies is hung exactly in the middle of the court. The height of the upper attachment is 10.07 m .

As for the color of the flooring, the shade of the coating is not strictly regulated by the rules. That is, the top layer can be anything. Starting from artificial grass or some kind of acrylic coatings, ending with a real lawn, soil, hard surface and so on. Naturally, the ball behaves absolutely differently on different surfaces in a single and pair game. And therefore, if you decide to learn how to play tennis really well, and not just learn a few techniques of doubles or singles serves, as well as learn the rules, then try to train on different types of court coverage. Which option is better to start with — it is very difficult to answer unequivocally. The main thing is not to get used to a uniform format.

• The game begins, or as they say in the professional sports environment — a point draw with a traditional serve. There are a couple of attempts in total. The ball must necessarily go above the net and not touch it. But at the same time finish your way on one of the two squares on the opposite side of the court. The first serve in each game in doubles and singles lawn tennis is carried out from the right half of the square diagonally to the left. Every new game in a pair of players, the pitcher becomes the receiver, and the receiver falls.

Attention!

The first serve always goes to the right, but after each point played, the pair does castling, that is, they change places!

• If the first serve was unsuccessful, that is, erroneous, that is, if the ball hits a couple of times outside the pitch area, touches the net, but flies over or even crashes and flies back. The rules of the game of lawn tennis provide for the loss of a point. Also, one of the players of the pair loses if he throws the ball outside the court. Each of the pair of opponents may be given the opportunity to re-submit.
• If the serve was successful, the main task of the opponent / cov in doubles or singles lawn tennis is to beat it off and make the opponent lose the ball. That is, I could not reflect it. And accordingly, I lost a point. You can read about how counting is done in doubles or singles lawn tennis in the next subsection.
• If during the game, but not during the submission of one player from a pair or one side in a doubles match, the ball touches the net and falls on the receiving side, it is counted as a winning one.

That, in fact, ended all the highlights. Of course, these are not all rules, it takes a very long time to describe all game situations. But for a start, these rules may well be enough.

Scoring for singles and doubles tournaments

Each tournament, the so-called game for a pair of rivals or four players, consists of games (short distances) and sets (long distances). Three or five long distances can be played during a match. 

• Sets are divided into games.
• The set is won by the player from the pair who won in 4 small battles, but provided that the opponent won two games less. If the score is the same after the games are drawn, a tie-break is played, which translates literally as breaking a draw.
• The player from the pair who first wins 7 points during the game wins. But only on one condition: if he scores two points more than his opponent from the pair. A rival or a rival.
• If the advantage in points still cannot be achieved by any of the pair of opponents, serves in doubles or singles lawn tennis are made until someone reaches a two-point advantage.
• How are points calculated at a short distance?

• 1 point + 15
• 2 point + 30
• 3 points + 40
• 4 points won — “game”

During the announcement of the results, the result of the pitcher from the pair or four is first announced, and after that the result of the receiver is announced. In singles and doubles lawn tennis, serves, rules, points — all this is absolutely identical.

Rocket, ball and other accessories for tennis players

In order to start playing doubles or singles tennis successfully, it is not enough to learn the rules and learn how to make good serves. It is also important to have high-quality equipment and accessories available.

What should a beginner buy?

• Be sure to have the right sneakers in lawn tennis. There should be reinforcement on the outer side of the platform. If you have the wrong shoes, the chances of twisting your foot during the reception or submission increases significantly.
• The next thing you should stop your attention on is a tennis racket. There are a variety of models, ranging from children’s and junior, ending with professional. For adult girls who are entering a professional lawn tennis court for the first time and are beginning to study the options for pair submission and the rules of the game, the junior racket will be ideal. For men, we choose depending on the physique and the degree of training.
• Next, choose a case or backpack for rackets. Of course, you can also use improvised options, but still special products show themselves much better in operation.
• Balls. By general agreement, lawn tennis balls are made of hollow rubber and covered with felt. It is better to buy tennis balls immediately with a set, so it turns out cheaper.
• Next come accessories. They are absolutely necessary, for example, as vibration dampers or windings, and to a greater extent decorative, like wristbands and bandages. Although, a good bandage and wristband improves the comfort of being in time for a pair or a single game of lawn tennis, and hence the probability of winning a tennis tournament.
• If you decide to train yourself to begin with, which, in principle, is very reasonable, you can turn your attention to equipment for lawn tennis. For example, a tennis cannon, a children’s tennis net, if you are going to train your child in pairs, a basket for tennis balls, and so on.
• And the last thing you should stop your attention on is a first aid kit and a repair kit for your racket. The first aid kit should include standard iodine or zelenka, bactericidal plasters, a bandage, cotton wool and an elastic bandage for fixing the limbs in case of stretching of the tendons. And the repair kit for your racket must necessarily include a winding and a set of strings.

It cannot be said that without high-quality uniforms, good rackets, good accessories, it is impossible to understand such a game as tennis. Doubles and single serves can be played in the simplest ammunition. But if you really want to learn how to play well, then it’s worth spending once on really high-quality accessories for playing tennis. It’s worth it.

Rules of successful submission — warm-up, training, game 

It will take many years to learn how to play tennis professionally. To reach a more or less intelligible amateur level, you need to train several times a week for at least a year. But again, the need for long workouts does not mean that you will not enjoy them, relax your mind and just have fun.

So, where do you need to start so that all the serves are successful, and the game of lawn tennis does not lead to injuries.

• Any training session or game between rivals should start with a warm-up.
• The racket should be held firmly, the grip of the handle of the racket can be compared to the grip of an axe or hammer. If you bend your arm at the elbow joint, then, according to the rules of the game of lawn tennis, in order to make a successful submission, the racket must lie flat on the shoulder with an edge.
• When it’s time to get ready to serve, you need to stand on your toes, your heels should be off the ground.
• The legs are half-bent, the knees should be slightly further than the socks. The left leg should be slightly in front if you are right-handed. And vice versa, if your working hand is left. The whole body should spring.
• To begin with, try to fill the ball with a racket in two positions: the inner side of the hand up, the outer side of the hand up.
• If this moment has turned out, you need to throw the ball with your right hand, if you are left-handed, and with your left, if you are right-handed, up. It should hit the ground, bounce. And again, it will need to be thrown up quite easily, but not with the palm of your hand, but with a racket.
• After that, you can proceed directly to the submission of doubles tennis. You could read about the rules of submission in the last subsection.
• If you are currently playing doubles tennis with opponents and want to beat them, you need to constantly keep three points in mind: the strengths of the opponent, your strengths, and pre-calculated tactics.

In training, you need to pay approximately equal amount of attention to your own weaknesses and strengths. Many novice tennis players either pay more attention to their strengths, or completely skip them in training. In the second case, the whole emphasis shifts to the weaknesses of the pitch or other points. Both training strategies can be called erroneous.

At what age do they start training to play tennis

The best age to study the rules of the game of lawn tennis and elementary game tasks is considered to be the period from 4 to 5 years. Of course, depending on the individual psychological and physical development of the child.

In order for the training to be successful, at the beginning of the training, no more than 2 times a week for one hour are held. If three times a week, then the duration of the workout can be reduced to 40 minutes. Working with the coach takes place in a playful way.

There is no upper age limit for practicing lawn tennis. The rules of the game, successful submission — all this can be mastered even at a very advanced age. Although, it is better otherwise: it is not possible, but it is worth it or even necessary. Because tennis is a unique game that trains both the brain (attention, concentration, vision) and the body at the same time. Not worse than the most advanced aerobics.

It will be especially easy to learn the rules of the game and learn how to serve correctly in lawn tennis for those people who already have little experience playing badminton. Of course, we are not talking about conquering the world’s peaks, but it will be very easy to have a good time, improve your health by playing tennis.