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Know about some unheard Tennis rules

Know about some unheard Tennis rules
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By

Abhijit Nair

Published: 17 Oct 2020 10:39 AM GMT

Tennis is one of the most popular games in the world. A lot of people watch this beautiful game worldwide, but not many are well versed with all the rules of the game. Here, we bring to you some of the unheard rules of tennis which you may not believe are true:

# Underarm Serves

As long as the ball is hit before it touches the ground while serving, the release of ball in any direction is considered to be legal. This means the players can serve the ball underarm.

# The player can’t throw the racquet towards the ball on purpose

No player can throw or drop the racquet in order to return the ball back to the opponent. The player must have control over the racquet while hitting the ball. However, if the player unintentionally drops the racquet after hitting the ball, the ball is still considered to be in play. The onus then is on the player to pick up the racquet and continue the play. But, if the thrown or dropped racquet touches the net, net post or lands in the opponent’s court, a point is awarded to the opponent.

# Player can only touch the ball with a racquet

A player can only touch the ball with a racquet and nothing else till the ball is in play. If the player touches the ball in play with anything else than the racquet then a point is awarded to the opponent. This remains the case even if the ball is going out of the court. The player can only touch the ball only when it has completely bounced out of the court. A point is also to the opponent if a ball in play touches the player’s clothing or even the hand holding the racquet touches the ball. This means that the player who hits the opponent wins a point. In doubles, if you hit your own partner with the ball then it is considered as a fault and a point goes to the opponent.

# Swing and miss in a service is a fault

Players can swing and miss while serving. The service motion is considered to be complete only when the player’s racquet hits or misses the ball. However, after the ball is tossed in air to serve, the player can choose to redo it without any penalty as long as the racquet hasn’t been swung and no attempt has been made to hit the ball. This means that a player is well within the rights to catch the ball or let it bounce after its tossed in the air and no attempt has been made to hit it during a serve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umo28K47Kvc

# If a player’s hat falls off during a point, the opponent can call for a let (replay)

If the player’s hat falls off or a ball falls off from the pocket, the opponent can call for a let or replay of the point. This means that even if the player wins the point, the opponent can call for a replay if any such hindrance happens.

# Players can’t make any noise when the ball is moving towards opponent’s court

The player can’t make any kind of noise if the ball is moving towards the opponent’s court but can if it is coming towards his side. This rule is specifically for doubles where communication between the players is the key. A player and his partner can communicate between them when the ball is coming towards them to be hit but can’t make any noise intentionally after they have hit the ball towards the opponents or a hindrance can be called. If the hindrance is deemed intentional, the opponent wins the point but if it was not intentional the point is replayed.

# Players can reach over the net to hit the ball if it bounces first on their side of court

This is one of the rare instances when a player is allowed to reach over the net. This rule means that if the ball bounces on the player’s side and goes over to the opponent’s side before the player can hit it due to wind or anything else, the player is well within the rights to reach over the net and hit the ball before it lands in the opponent’s court. But during the process, if the player touches the net or the ball lands in the opponent’s court before the player can touch it, then the point is awarded to the opponent.

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