Tennis Rules for Beginners: Faults, Lets, Tramlines, and the Rest

Scoring is only half of what trips up new players. The other half is the everyday rules: what counts as a fault, what a let is, where you are allowed to stand, and which lines are in for doubles but out for singles. None of it is complicated once someone walks you through it. Deuce has put on his umpire's outfit and climbed into the chair, so here are the rules a beginner actually needs, in plain English. (For the numbers side, love, fifteen, thirty, forty, deuce, our scoring explainer has you covered.)

The serve, and what makes it a fault

You get two serves on every point. You must serve from behind the baseline, starting on the right (deuce) side and alternating sides each point. The serve must land in the service box diagonally opposite you, before the first bounce. It is a fault if the ball lands outside that box, hits the net and lands out, or misses entirely on your swing. Two faults in a row is a double fault, and you lose the point. A serve that clips the net cord and still lands in the correct box is a let, and you replay that serve, no penalty.

Foot faults

You are not allowed to touch the baseline or the court inside it with either foot until after you have struck the serve. Stepping on or over the line early is a foot fault, which counts as a fault. In social tennis people are relaxed about it, but it is a real rule, and creeping over the line is a habit worth not building.

Lets during a rally

The net-cord let only applies to the serve. Once a point is in play, a ball that clips the net and continues over is live, play on. The other common "let" is for outside interference: if a ball rolls onto your court from next door mid-point, you stop and replay the point. Call it loudly and immediately, not after you have seen how the point turns out.

In or out, and who calls it

A ball is in if any part of it touches any part of the line. The line is in. In social tennis there is no umpire, so you call the balls on your side of the net and your opponent calls theirs. The golden rule: if you are not sure, the ball is in. You give the benefit of the doubt to your opponent, always. Our etiquette guide covers the unwritten side of line-calling.

One bounce, and you cannot touch the net

The ball may bounce only once on your side before you hit it. You can also take it out of the air (a volley) as long as it has not already bounced, but you may not volley a serve. You lose the point if the ball bounces twice, if you hit it out, if you fail to clear the net, or if you (or your racket, or anything you are wearing) touch the net while the ball is in play.

The tramlines: singles vs doubles

This is the one that confuses everyone. A tennis court has two sets of sidelines. The inner pair is the singles court. The outer pair, with the narrow alleys between them called the tramlines, are only in play for doubles. So in singles, a ball that lands in the tramlines is out. In doubles, the whole wider court is in. The baseline and service boxes do not change between the two. If the geometry is fuzzy, our guide to the tennis court names every line.

Changing ends

You swap ends after the first game, and then after every two games, on the odd-game totals (after games 1, 3, 5 and so on). It evens out any sun or wind advantage. In a tiebreak, you change ends every six points.

Let the app keep score

Knowing the rules is one thing, keeping track of the score, the serve, and the ends while you actually play is another. RallyHub's match tools let you record and confirm a result so there is no argument afterward, and once it is confirmed it flows straight into your RallyRank. Deuce, in the chair, approves: the more you let the app handle the admin, the more you can just play.

Two serves, line is in, give the benefit of the doubt, mind the tramlines, change ends on the odd games. Learn those and you will never feel lost on a social court again. Next, get to know the court itself with the tennis court explained.