Tennis Rules jotted down by the International Tennis Federation , the governing body of tennis, binds the game in the laws which make it more disciplined and easy to play. The game is played on a rectangular court , 78 feet long and 27 feet wide. This configuration of the court for the singles matches is changed for the doubles matches the width is increased to 36 feet. The net that divides the court into two halves is 3 feet 6 inches high at the posts and is 3 feet at the centre. The baselines and the sidelines mark the boundaries of the court along its width and length respectively. The outermost lines, called the doubles sidelines , are made use of during the doubles matches. The center line or the center service line runs across the court along its width dividing the service line into two halves.
There are three types of tennis court-the clay court, the grass court and the hard court, usually made of cement, Rebound Ace or coated asphalt. Indoor courts are also used sometimes with hard, carpet or clay surfaces. The server serves the ball to the diagonally opposite court from where his opponent returns to start a rally . The points are counted as fifteen, thirty, forty and then game. If the scores are tied at forty, it is called deuce and an advantage is played from then on. When a single pointed is needed to win the game, it is called game point and set point is a term used when a point is needed to win the set. A player usually needs to win at least six games and be two games ahead than his opponent to win a set. A match is played of odd number of sets. Tie breakers of at least seven points are used to bring results to tied matches.
The rules of tennis bind the game in its laws. They are applied in matches from the nursery to the professional levels. They have become an essential part of tennis itself.
