“Is that allowed?” This is one of the most common questions that beginner tennis players ask, and with good reason. Tennis is well known for its many unusual rules, which is perhaps not surprising for a sport that boasts a centuries-old history, and even experienced players aren’t always familiar with the litany of things that can and can’t be done during a match. Unfortunately, this means that it’s all too easy to lose points inadvertently, simply because you didn’t know that something you did wasn’t permitted. Likewise, if an opponent challenges you on something you did that was, in fact, permitted, it’s helpful to be able to respond to that challenge with the facts.
To boost your procedural knowledge and confidence before your next match, continue reading for a look at some of the most surprising, little-known rules of tennis.
Until the point is over, you can’t touch the ball with anything but your racket.
If your opponent just hit a ball that is clearly going out, it might be tempting to call the ball out and simply catch it with your hand in order to move on to the next point more quickly. However, if you do this, you’ll end up automatically losing the point. In order to give players the benefit of the doubt that the ball is in until it touches the ground, the rules state that you can’t touch the ball with anything other than your racket until after the bounce.
You can’t touch the net while the ball is in play.
If you don’t think it’s a big deal to run up to the net to return a shot and, in the process, brush your arm or your shirt against the net, think again. While the ball is in play, no part of your body, clothing, or racket is allowed to touch the net or net posts. If this happens, your opponent earns the point. It’s only permitted to touch the net after the point.
You can’t deliberately drop or throw your racket.
The rules of tennis state that when you hit the ball, you must have control of your racket. In other words, if a shot is coming toward you that you don’t think you’ll reach in time, making a desperate attempt to connect with the ball by throwing your racket in its path won’t help you: it just means that your opponent will get the point. However, if you accidentally drop or lose control of your racket after you’ve hit the ball, play will still continue.
When the ball is moving to the other side of the court, you can’t make noise.
In tennis, it’s important to demonstrate good sportsmanship and to be fair and respectful to your opponent, and that’s what this rule is about. Essentially, the aim here is to prevent you from deliberately distracting your opponent by shouting or otherwise making noise when the ball is headed their way. However, you are allowed to make noise when the ball is coming in your direction (e.g., if you’re playing doubles, you can call out to your partner as the ball heads toward you).
You can hit the ball around the net.
Although your main objective in a tennis match is to hit the ball over the net, did you know that you’re also permitted to hit the ball around the net? As long as the ball lands correctly in your opponent’s court, you are permitted to go wide and hit the ball around, and even below the level of, the net. The one thing you can’t do is hit the ball through the net (as might happen if there were a hole or other defect in the net, for example).
As long as it’s unintentional, you can hit the ball twice during a swing.
This is one of the few newer rules in tennis (interestingly, most contemporary tennis rules have not changed since they were first laid out by the International Tennis Federation in 1924). According to this updated rule, while you’re only allowed to swing at the ball once, it is permitted for your racket to unintentionally make contact with the ball twice on your single swing. For example, if you swing at the ball and it first hits your racket strings and then the frame, this is allowed.
You can serve underhand.
Although there are plenty of reasons not to serve underhand, including diminished power or control, an infraction of the rules isn’t one of them. As long as you hit the ball in the air before it touches the ground, you’re allowed to release it in any direction. While this is not a common technique, some players, such as former French Open winner Michael Chang, have used the underhand serve as a strategy to surprise opponents.
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