Tennis Rules for Beginners: The Basics Explained (ITF 2026)

These tennis rules for beginners cover what you actually need on court: how to serve legally, what counts as in or out, when a point is lost, and when to switch ends. Everything here follows the ITF Rules of Tennis (2026 edition), the official text used worldwide, with notes on how casual matches usually handle things.

New to the sport? Start with our complete tennis guide for beginners, then come back here.

Basic tennis rules: the goal of the game

You win a point when your opponent can't return the ball legally. A return is legal when:

• you hit the ball after no more than one bounce on your side, and
• the ball goes over (or around) the net and lands inside the correct court on the other side.

A ball that touches any part of a line is in. Points build into games, games into sets, and sets into a match. Our tennis scoring guide explains that part in detail.

Starting the match: toss, ends and warm-up

Before the warm-up, players decide choices by a toss (in casual play, usually spinning a racket). The winner of the toss can choose to:

• serve or receive first (the opponent then picks the end), or
• pick the end (the opponent then decides who serves first), or
• let the opponent make the first choice.

How to serve in tennis legally

The serve starts every point. The ITF rules say:

• Stand behind the baseline, between the center mark and the sideline (the singles sideline in singles, the doubles sideline in doubles).
• Toss the ball by hand and hit it before it touches the ground.
• Start each game serving from the right side (the "deuce court"), then alternate sides every point.
• The serve must clear the net and land in the service box diagonally opposite.

You get two serves per point. If the first is a fault, you take a second serve from the same side. Two faults in a row is a double fault, and you lose the point.

Foot faults

During the service motion you may not:

• walk or run to change position (small foot movements are fine),
• touch the baseline or the court inside it with either foot,
• step past the imaginary extension of the sideline or the center mark.

Breaking any of these is a foot fault, which counts as a fault. Jumping as you serve is allowed, as long as your feet are behind the line when you start the motion. In casual play without officials, foot faults are rarely called, but it's worth learning a clean stance from day one.

Service lets

A serve is a let, and is simply served again, when:

• it touches the net, strap or band and then lands in the correct box, or
• the receiver wasn't ready.

A let does not cancel an earlier fault: if your first serve was a fault and your second serve is a let, you are still on your second serve.

The ITF also lists an approved "No-Let" rule as an alternative. Under it, a serve that clips the net is simply in play. Some leagues and events use it, so check before you start.

When you lose a point

Under ITF Rule 24, you lose the point if:

• you serve two faults in a row,
• the ball bounces twice on your side before you hit it,
• your shot lands outside the correct court or hits something outside it before bouncing,
• your shot hits a permanent fixture (fence, light, umpire's chair) before bouncing,
• as receiver, you hit the serve before it bounces,
• you deliberately carry or catch the ball on the racket, or deliberately hit it twice,
• you, your racket or your clothing touches the net, net posts or the opponent's court while the ball is in play,
• you hit the ball before it crosses the net to your side,
• the ball touches you or your clothing (anything except the racket),
• in doubles, both partners hit the ball on the same return.

A few situations that surprise beginners:

• A ball that hits the net and drops over during a rally is good and play continues.
• Your racket may cross over the net on the follow-through, as long as you hit the ball on your side and don't touch the net.
• A serve that hits the receiver before bouncing gives the point to the server, unless it was a let.
• Catching a ball you think is going out loses the point, even if it would have landed out.

Hindrance and lets during a rally

If your opponent deliberately hinders you (shouting mid-rally, for example), you win the point. If the hindrance is unintentional or outside anyone's control, like a ball rolling onto the court from the next court, the whole point is replayed with a first serve.

Changing ends in tennis

Players change ends after the first, third and every following odd game of each set. At the end of a set, you change ends if the total games played in that set is odd; if it is even, you change after the first game of the next set.

During a standard tie-break, players change ends after every six points.

Time between points

The 2026 ITF rules allow a maximum of 25 seconds between points, 90 seconds at a change of ends and 120 seconds at a set break. After the first game of each set and during a tie-break, players change ends without a rest. Casual matches are relaxed about this, but keeping play moving is good etiquette, especially when the next group is waiting for the court.

Line calls in casual tennis

Without officials, each player calls the lines on their own side of the net. Common etiquette:

• Call "out" promptly and clearly.
• If you're not sure, the ball is in.
• Don't call balls on your opponent's side.

This is the honor system most clubs and leagues follow, even though the ITF rules themselves are written with officials in mind.

Doubles-specific rules

Doubles has extra rules about who serves and receives, plus the alleys becoming part of the court after the serve. They are all in our tennis doubles rules and strategy guide.

Common shortcuts in recreational play

The ITF publishes approved alternatives that many recreational matches use:

• No-ad scoring: a single deciding point at deuce.
• Short sets: first to four games, with a tie-break at 4–4.
• Match tie-break: a 10-point tie-break instead of a final set.
• No-Let rule: net-cord serves are played.

Agree on these before the first point. If you keep score with Kèo's online scorekeeper, you can pick the number of sets, ad or no-ad, and 6- or 4-game sets before you start.

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