Tennis serving rules
The rules governing how a tennis point begins, including where the server stands and where the serve must land.
Overview
The server begins each point from behind the baseline, alternating sides after every point, and must land the serve in the service box diagonally opposite. The server gets two attempts: if the first serve misses, a second serve is played, and missing both is a double fault that loses the point.
A serve that clips the top of the net and still lands in the correct box is replayed as a let. Serving alternates by game, and the receiver must let the ball bounce once before returning the serve.
Key points
- The serve is struck from behind the baseline, alternating sides each point.
- The ball must land in the service box diagonally opposite.
- Missing both serves is a double fault and loses the point.
- A serve that touches the net and lands in is replayed as a let.
Where it’s used
Sports that use tennis serving rules:
Tennis
A singles or doubles racquet sport that blends agility, strategy and stamina on court.
POP Tennis
A friendly, easy-to-learn racquet sport on a smaller court with solid paddles and a lower net.
Beach Tennis
A sociable sand-court paddle sport played with solid paddles and a soft ball that is volleyed without a bounce.
Related rules
Foot fault
A serving fault called when the server's foot touches the baseline or court before striking the ball.
Let
A call that stops a point and has it replayed without penalty, used across several racket sports.
Volleyball rotation
The rule that players rotate one position clockwise each time their team wins back the serve.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Tennis serving rules to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Officiating
- UmpireA match official who rules on lines, serves and dismissals in racket, bat-and-ball and net sports such as tennis, cricket and baseball — and, in racket sports, also keeps the running score.
- Line JudgeA boundary-line official who calls whether the ball or player is in or out and flags foot faults, working under the head referee across many sports.
- Out-of-Bounds CallAn official's ruling that the ball or a player in possession has left the legal playing area, stopping play and handing a restart or possession to the opponent.
- RefereeThe primary on-field official who enforces the rules, controls play, penalises fouls, awards restarts, and blows the whistle to start and stop a match.
Scoring systems
- Tennis scoringTennis is scored in points, games and sets, using the distinctive 15–30–40 point sequence and a win-by-two margin at every level.
- Padel scoringPadel borrows tennis scoring, counting points as 15–30–40 within games and playing sets to six games decided by a tiebreak.
- Table tennis scoringTable tennis is scored on every rally to 11 points per game, won by two clear points, over a best-of odd number of games.
- Basketball scoringBasketball is scored by shooting the ball through the hoop, with baskets worth one, two or three points depending on where the shot is taken.
- Tiebreak scoringA tiebreak is a short deciding game used in racket sports to settle a set that has reached an even number of games, scored in simple numbers to a fixed target.
Tactics
- Serve and volleyAn attacking tennis tactic where the server follows their serve to the net to finish the point with a volley.
- Pick and rollA two-player basketball action where one player screens for the ball-handler, then rolls to the basket.
- Offside trapA defensive football tactic where the back line steps up together to leave an attacker offside.
- Man-to-man markingA defensive tactic where each defender is assigned a specific opponent to track and contain.
- Court coverage and rotationVolleyball positioning where players rotate through positions and cover the court as one coordinated unit.
Learning paths
- Learn TennisA structured, educational learning path for tennis — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn Table TennisA structured, educational learning path for table tennis — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn PadelA structured, educational learning path for padel — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn BadmintonA structured, educational learning path for badminton — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn FootballA structured, educational learning path for football — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.