Understanding Tennis Rules and Scoring

Tennis is played on a rectangular court with a net in the middle. Players use rackets to hit a ball over the net into the opponent's court. Points are scored when the opponent fails to return the ball correctly.

The scoring system in tennis is unique: points progress from 0 (love) to 15, 30, 40, and then 'game.' A player must win by two points. 'Deuce' occurs at 40-40, requiring two consecutive points to win the game.

Did you know? The tennis court is 78 feet long. For singles, the width is 27 feet, but for doubles, it's 36 feet wide. The net height is 3 feet at the center and 3.5 feet at the posts.

The server stands behind the baseline and serves diagonally into the opponent's service box. A 'fault' occurs if the server misses the box or touches the baseline before hitting the ball. Two consecutive faults result in a 'double fault,' giving the opponent a point.

If the score in a set reaches 6-6, a tiebreak is played, usually to 7 points, but again, a player must win by two points. Interestingly, in rare 'Golden Set' situations, a player can win a set without losing a single point.

Did you know? The fastest tennis serve ever recorded was 163.7 mph by Sam Groth in 2012, faster than many car speeds!