Couch Umpire
Louie
Yinette PerezFremen's Guide to Tennis [The Court Basics]
July 30th 2009 02:29
Hi everybody,
I want this site to be for more than just the hard-core tennis fan. I also want this to be for the average person, who is slightly interested in tennis and doesn't know much about the sport. I know that when I was first learning about tennis, I learned one thing in lessons, and quite another by watching tennis. There was so much more to the game than I thought there was and this is going to be the first of many posts where I talk about tennis in general, or tennis history.
This post will be about the court, and each post will have a similar theme about the game (i.e. The Swing, Footwork, Psychology, The Serve).
The Court
Sorry for the blurriness, I've been having trouble with this on Orble in other posts too. The best thing would be to click on that and just keep it open while I explain what each term means.
From the top:
Baseline - This is the line that defines the length of the court. You cannot touch this with your feet during your serve, and if the ball bounces past it, then it is deemed out. It is recommended to stay around the baseline during points as an optimal area to cover the court.
Center Mark - This does almost nothing. Just stay on the right side of it when serving on even points (i.e. to start a game, at duece, 30-love, 15-all, etc.), and the left on odd points.
Doubles Alleys - These widen the points for doubles play. In doubles, the serve can also be behind these areas (as opposed to only behind the single's court). The serve must still go in the service box, but any balls after the serve can go anywhere on the court, including the double's alleys.
Service Line - The ball must bounce on this line or before it (towards the net) to be deemed in. If it goes past, then it is out.
Service Box - Served balls must bounce in this box.
Net (not shown) - This is the dark line that splits the court in half in the picture. It is pretty much self explanatory. The top part is called the "tape" or "cord".
Center Line - Serves can bounce on this line and be called in from either side.
No Man's Land - This is generally a bad place to stand. You either want to be at the baseline, hitting rallies, or up at the net playing volleys. Obviously, as you get more into the game, you'll see that this is overgeneralized, but it's a great starting point for strategy.
Ad Court - This side of the court is called "Ad Court" because you play only on that side during Advantage points.
Deuce Court - This is misspelled on the picture, the spelling here is correct. It's the exact opposite as the Ad Court.
I hope this was helpful. In my next posts, I think I'll describe more about the history of courts and the surfaces.
I want this site to be for more than just the hard-core tennis fan. I also want this to be for the average person, who is slightly interested in tennis and doesn't know much about the sport. I know that when I was first learning about tennis, I learned one thing in lessons, and quite another by watching tennis. There was so much more to the game than I thought there was and this is going to be the first of many posts where I talk about tennis in general, or tennis history.
This post will be about the court, and each post will have a similar theme about the game (i.e. The Swing, Footwork, Psychology, The Serve).
Hall of Fame Tennis Court and Fred Perry Statue
The Court
A Fully Labeled Tennis Court
Sorry for the blurriness, I've been having trouble with this on Orble in other posts too. The best thing would be to click on that and just keep it open while I explain what each term means.
From the top:
Baseline - This is the line that defines the length of the court. You cannot touch this with your feet during your serve, and if the ball bounces past it, then it is deemed out. It is recommended to stay around the baseline during points as an optimal area to cover the court.
Center Mark - This does almost nothing. Just stay on the right side of it when serving on even points (i.e. to start a game, at duece, 30-love, 15-all, etc.), and the left on odd points.
Doubles Alleys - These widen the points for doubles play. In doubles, the serve can also be behind these areas (as opposed to only behind the single's court). The serve must still go in the service box, but any balls after the serve can go anywhere on the court, including the double's alleys.
Service Line - The ball must bounce on this line or before it (towards the net) to be deemed in. If it goes past, then it is out.
Service Box - Served balls must bounce in this box.
Net (not shown) - This is the dark line that splits the court in half in the picture. It is pretty much self explanatory. The top part is called the "tape" or "cord".
Center Line - Serves can bounce on this line and be called in from either side.
No Man's Land - This is generally a bad place to stand. You either want to be at the baseline, hitting rallies, or up at the net playing volleys. Obviously, as you get more into the game, you'll see that this is overgeneralized, but it's a great starting point for strategy.
Ad Court - This side of the court is called "Ad Court" because you play only on that side during Advantage points.
Deuce Court - This is misspelled on the picture, the spelling here is correct. It's the exact opposite as the Ad Court.
I hope this was helpful. In my next posts, I think I'll describe more about the history of courts and the surfaces.
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