This document provides scenarios and questions to test one's understanding of basic tennis rules. It discusses situations involving line calls, touching the net, fault calls, and out balls. For each scenario, it provides the rule that applies, such as giving the opponent the benefit of the doubt if a ball's in/out status is unclear and that players can only call balls on their own side of the court. The goal is to learn how to properly apply common tennis gameplay and officiating rules.

1. BASIC RULES ASSESSMENT
Application Practice

2. APPLICATION QUESTIONS
• The following slides contain scenarios that one might see during a tennis
match.
• Consider each scenario and how the general gameplay of tennis is or is
not followed.
• Answers are provided on subsequent slides.
• It may be helpful to have your own players act as stand ins for characters
in the scenarios.

3. SHOULD THE RECEIVING
TEAM HAVE CALLED THE
BALL OUT? OR GIVEN THE
POINT TO THEIR
OPPONENTS? WHAT IS THE
#1 RULE AT PLAY HERE?
• In a doubles match, a serve is hit and
lands near the line of the correct service
box. The receiving team look at each
other after missing the serve and can’t
confirm if the serve was in or out. One of
the players decides that they should just
call it out and get ready for the second
serve. Was this the appropriate
response?

4. THE POINT SHOULD HAVE
GONE TO THE SERVER. THE #1
RULE HERE IS GIVING YOUR
OPPONENT THE BENEFIT OF
THE DOUBT. IF YOU CAN’T
TELL WHETHER A BALL IS IN
OR OUT, CONSIDER IT IN.
• In a doubles match, a serve is hit and
lands near the line of the correct service
box. The receiving team look at each
other after missing the serve and can’t
confirm if the serve was in or out. One of
the players decides that they should just
call it out and get ready for the second
serve. Was this the appropriate
response?

5. WHO’S POINT SHOULD IT
BE? WHAT ARE THE
PLAYERS DOING WRONG?
• A point is being played in a junior high
match and Player A runs toward the net
to get to a short ball. He returns the ball,
and his body lightly brushes the net. The
opponent hits the next ball out of play.
Player A claims the point. Player B claims
the point because he saw Player A touch
the net.

6. PLAYER B CANNOT GIVE
HIMSELF THE POINT
BECAUSE PLAYER A
TOUCHES THE NET. CALLS
ARE MADE ON YOUR OWN
SIDE OF THE COURT.
HOWEVER, PLAYER A
SHOULD CALL HIS OWN
INFRACTION AND AWARD
THE POINT TO PLAYER B.
• A point is being played in a junior high
match and Player A runs toward the net
to get to a short ball. He returns the ball,
and his body lightly brushes the net. The
opponent hits the next ball out of play.
Player A claims the point. Player B claims
the point because he saw Player A touch
the net.

7. WHO WINS THE POINT?
WHO CAN CALL A SERVICE
FAULT?
• Player A hits a first serve during a match
and sees it bounce just outside of the
service box. Player B returns the point in
play and is ready to play the point out.
The ball bounces in play and passes
Player A. Player A gets ready to hit a
second serve because his serve was out,
but Player B claims the point because he
hit the return.

8. PLAYER B WINS THE POINT.
HE PLAYED A SERVE AND
GAVE THE SERVER THE
BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. A
SERVER CANNOT CALL A
FIRST SERVE FAULT IN THIS
SITUATION.
• Player A hits a first serve during a match
and sees it bounce just outside of the
service box. Player B, not knowing if the
serve was in or out, returns the point in
play and is ready to play the point out.
The ball bounces in play and passes
Player A. Player A gets ready to hit a
second serve because his serve was out,
but Player B claims the point because he
hit the return.

9. WHO SHOULD WIN THE
POINT?
• Player A hits a first serve during a match
and sees it bounce just outside of the
service box. Player B, not knowing if the
serve was in or out, returns the serve and
it sails beyond the opposite baseline, out
of play. Player A claims the point because
he cannot call a fault on a first serve.

10. NOBODY SHOULD WIN THE
POINT. PLAYER A, WHO
SAW THE SERVE GO OUT,
SHOULD CALL THE FAULT
AND HIT A SECOND SERVE.
THIS IS THE ONLY TIME A
SERVER(OR PARTNER) MAY
CALL A FIRST SERVE FAULT.• Player A hits a first serve during a match
and sees it bounce just outside of the
service box. Player B, not knowing if the
serve was in or out, returns the serve and
it sails beyond the opposite baseline, out
of play. Player A claims the point because
he cannot call a fault on a first serve.

11. WHO SHOULD WIN THE
POINT? WHAT RULES
MIGHT BE AT PLAY?
• Two junior high players play a long
point. After hustling to the net to hit a
short ball, Player A watches as Player B
hits a ball over his head that he knows
will be out. The ball flies over Player A’s
head and, indeed, bounces out. Player A
never turns around to see the ball land.
Instead, he is congratulating his
opponent on a hard fought point, as he
sees his opponent hanging his head after
hitting the shot. What should happen in
this situation?

12. PLAYER B SHOULD WIN THE
POINT. PLAYER A DIDN’T
CLEARLY SEE THE BALL
LAND OUT. IF A BALL ISN’T
CLEARLY SEEN AS OUT, IT
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
IN. PLAYER A SHOULD GIVE
PLAYER B THE BENEFIT OF
THE DOUBT THAT THE
SHOT WAS IN.
• Two junior high players play a long
point. After hustling to the net to hit a
short ball, Player A watches as Player B
hits a ball over his head that he knows
will be out. The ball flies over Player A’s
head and, indeed, bounces out. Player A
never turns around to see the ball land.
Instead, he is congratulating his
opponent on a hard fought point, as he
sees his opponent hanging his head after
hitting the shot. What should happen in
this situation?

13. WHO SHOULD WIN THE
POINT? WHAT RULES
MIGHT BE AT PLAY?
• Two junior high players play a long
point. After hustling to the net to hit a
short ball, Player A watches as Player B
hits a ball over his head that he knows
will be out. The ball flies over Player A’s
head and, indeed, bounces out. Player A
never turns around to see the ball land.
Instead, he is congratulating his
opponent on a hard fought point. Player
B watches his shot fly over the baseline
and land out. Player B claims the point
because Player A did not see the shot
land out. What should happen in this
situation?

14. PLAYER A SHOULD WIN THE
POINT. WHILE HE SHOULD
NOT CALL THE BALL OUT
WITHOUT SEEING IT,
PLAYER B SAW IT LAND
OUT AND HAS AN
OBLIGATION TO CALL ANY
BALL OUT THAT IS CLEARLY
OUT.
• Two junior high players play a long
point. After hustling to the net to hit a
short ball, Player A watches as Player B
hits a ball over his head that he knows
will be out. The ball flies over Player A’s
head and, indeed, bounces out. Player A
never turns around to see the ball land.
Instead, he is congratulating his
opponent on a hard fought point. Player
B watches his shot fly over the baseline
and land out. Player B claims the point
because Player A did not see the shot
land out. What should happen in this
situation?