Tennis Rules for Beginners: A Simple Guide to How Tennis Works

May 09, 2025

Layla Flores

So, you’ve decided to dip your toes into the world of tennis—great choice! Whether you're eyeing Wimbledon greatness or just planning to avoid embarrassing yourself at the local court, knowing the basics of tennis rules is essential. Don’t worry—tennis may look complicated, but once you break it down, it's just a fancy game of hitting a ball back and forth. Let’s serve up the essentials.

The Basics: What Even Is Tennis?

Tennis is a racket sport played between two players (singles) or two teams of two (doubles). The goal is simple: hit the ball over the net and into the opponent’s court in a way that they can’t return it. Sounds easy, right? Well… not quite. But that’s what makes it fun.

The Court: Your Tennis Battlefield

A standard tennis court is a rectangle split in half by a net. Each side has:

A baseline at the back
Service boxes near the net
Doubles alleys (used only in doubles matches)

The court dimensions differ slightly for singles and doubles matches, with the latter using the full width.

Scoring: Why It Goes 15, 30, 40

Let’s talk points, games, and sets—because tennis scoring is famously... unique.

Points
- 0 points = Love (yes, love)
- 1 point = 15
- 2 points = 30
- 3 points = 40
- 4 points = Game (if you're ahead by at least 2 points)

If both players reach 40, that’s called deuce. From there:

Win one point = advantage
Win the next point = game
Lose the next = back to deuce. Rinse, repeat.

Games and Sets
- Win 6 games to win a set, but you must lead by at least 2 games.
- If it’s 6-6, you play a tiebreak (first to 7 points, win by 2).
Matches
- Most matches are best of 3 sets (first to win 2 sets).
- In some tournaments (like men’s Grand Slams), it’s best of 5.

Serving: Start With a Bang

Each point begins with a serve:

Stand behind the baseline and serve diagonally into the opponent’s service box.
You get two chances. Miss both? That’s a double fault, and your opponent gets the point.
Players alternate serving every game.

Pro tip: In doubles, the serving order rotates between all four players.

What Not to Do

Hit the ball into the net or out of bounds? Your opponent gets the point.
Let the ball bounce twice on your side? Same deal.
Touch the net, distract your opponent, or commit a foot fault while serving? All no-nos.

Fun & Helpful Extras

You can let the ball bounce once before hitting it—or hit it on the fly (a volley).
Players switch sides every odd-numbered game (after game 1, 3, 5, etc.).
No coaching allowed during play (except in some leagues).

What You Need to Play

Not much:

A racket
A few tennis balls
Proper shoes (those courts can be slippery)
And ideally, someone to play with!

Final Serve

Tennis is a game of skill, strategy, and surprisingly quirky traditions. But once you understand the basics, it’s incredibly fun—whether you’re watching or playing. So grab a racket, learn the lingo, and remember: love means nothing in tennis... but everything in life.

Game, set, match—you’re ready!