Coming Home Magazine

In tennis, players stand on opposite sides of a net in the middle of the court, using their rackets to hit a small ball back and forth to gain points in rounds called games. Games are played in sets, with all play collectively known as a match. The person or team with the most points in a game wins the game, the one with the most points in a set wins the set, and the one who wins the most sets wins the match. Tennis begins with a coin toss or racquet spin to determine which side of the court each player will play on and who will serve the ball. The serve is the shot that starts every point, with players alternating serving each game. They must successfully serve the ball to their opponent in two tries by standing behind their baseline and hitting it diagonally across the court into their opponent's service box. A serving player stepping over the baseline or hitting the ball into the net or out of bounds commits a fault, which allows them to make a second attempt. If that happens again, it's a double fault, and their opponent scores a point. Once the ball is served correctly, it's go time! Each player or team may let the ball bounce once before returning it over the net within the boundaries. In peak performance, athletes use a variety of shots to exchange the ball over the net and score, implementing techniques like the forehand, backhand, volley, lob, overhead smash, and drop shot. If a player fails to return a shot, their opponent earns a point. Both single players and doubles teams start with zero points, also known as love. The first point is 15, the second 30, and the third 40. If the score of a game is tied 0-0, 1-1, or 2-2, then "-all" is added to the point name, such as love-all, 15-all, or 30-all. A player or team wins the game by scoring a fourth point only if they're at least two points ahead. If both players or teams reach 40, the score is called deuce, and a player must then get two consecutive points to win the game. If the server wins the next point, the score is referred to as "advantage-in" (or "ad-in"), meaning the server is just one point away from winning the game. If the receiver wins the point after deuce, the score changes to "advantage-out" (or "ad-out"), indicating that the receiver is now one point away from winning the game. Players alternate between the two sides of the court after every odd game in a set (i.e., 1-0, 3-2, 5-0). To win a: • Game: A player or team must score at least four points and be ahead by two points. • Set: A player or team must win at least six games with a margin of at least two games. If the score reaches 6-6, a tiebreak is played to seven points, which must be won by at least two points. • Match: Usually played as best-of-three sets, with a best-of-five format used in some men's professional matches. OBJECTIVE SCORING SERVING DEUCE & ADVANTAGE WINNING COMING HOME MAGAZINE 39

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