one person plays against one person) or doubles (where two people play against two people).

The object of the game is for you or your team to score more points and to win sets faster

than the opposing player or team. In the women’s game you have to win 2 sets, and in the men’s

game, you must win 3 sets. To win a set, you must win at least 6 games,

and be at least 2 games ahead. To win a game, you must win 4 points and be

at least two points ahead. Hey, whoa … I’m confused already?!

Okay, let’s start from the beginning … The tennis court is 78ft long by 36ft wide,

and the net is 3.5 ft above the ground. These are some of the other dimensions of

the court, and note that the area of play is different for both singles and doubles.

The game starts with one player making a serve. To do this, they must stand behind the line

and hit the ball into this area of the opponent’s court.

The opponent is allowed a maximum of one bounce to hit the ball back over the net onto the

other players court. The idea is to hit the ball onto your opponents

court and for your opponent not to be able to hit it back.

If you manage to successfully hit the ball onto your opponents court without them returning

the favour, you score. If you score one point, you score ‘15’

If you score two points, you score ‘30’ If you score three points, you score ‘40’

And if you score four points, and are two points ahead, you win the game.

The only time this is different is when the score is 40-40.

This is known as deuce, and you now have to win two straight points to win the game.

After a game is won, the other player or pair serves the ball from the other side to start

the next game. Once a player has won 6 games and is at least

2 games ahead, they win a set. Winning 2 sets or 3 sets faster than your

opponents, wins you the Match.

So umm … is there anything you can’t do in Tennis?

Ironically, yes! There’s a lot of things you cannot do in Tennis

You cannot hit the ball outside the area of play.

You cannot hit the ball into the net and for it to land on your side of the court.

You cannot hit the ball twice in succession. You cannot touch the net.

You cannot touch the ball with any part of your body except with the racket

and you cannot commit a double fault. If you commit any of these infractions, this

results in your opponents being awarded a point.

Now that’s basically Tennis in a nutshell, but there’s a few things you’ll need to

understand before playing or going to a game.

For example … Fault/Double Fault

During a serve, you have two chances to serve the ball legally.

You must be behind the line and you must hit the ball onto this area of your opponents

court. Should you fail to do either of those things, this is known as a fault and you must

serve the ball again. If you commit two faults in a row, this is

a double fault, and your opponent is automatically awarded a point.

Let If a legal serve hits the net before landing

in the opponents area, this is known as a let, and the player is allowed to serve the

ball again without fault.

Ace

If a player serves the ball legally and the opponent cannot return the ball, this is known

as an ‘ace’. The serving player wins the point.

Advantage During deuce, if you score one point – you

are known to have an ‘advantage’. You only need one more point to win the game unless

your opponent scores.

Tie Breaker. If the games are tied at 6-6, a tiebreaker

is used to determine who wins the set. Players take it in turns to serve and the

aim is to score 7 points and be at least two points ahead. This carries on until someone

wins the set.

If you’re still into sure about the scoring system – be sure to watch a few games to

get used to how it all works. It seems a little complicated, but once you watch or play Tennis,

the rules will become clear. If you have found this video at all helpful,

please like, share and subscribe. It takes me ages to make one of these things

and good karma is very much appreciated. Be sure to follow me on twitter also, but

in the meantime, enjoy Tennis!

Ninh Ly, www.ninh.co.uk, @NinhLyUK