I was having lunch with one of my tennis chicks, and as we were catching up with our busy lives, our conversation turned to tennis, of course. And of course, it was regarding USTA rules.
She was telling me about a doubles league match in which she was given a moonball up at the net (I love those!). She thought it would be an easy put-away, but the ball dropped right into the path of the sun, and she lost sight of it as she swung her racquet and missed it. But being the quick thinker she is, she stepped back, and before it bounced twice, she hit a winner down the middle.
Well, this didn’t sit well with the opponents. They said the point should be theirs because my friend’s racquet apparently crossed the net. But there was NO contact the ball (or net). Now, had she made contact with the ball on the other side of the net, then the point would definitely go to the opponents. But there was no contact with the ball whatsoever until the second stroke, which happened further back, away from the net.
They agreed to replay the point, but who was correct? The applicable USTA rule in the Friend At Court handbook is as follows (in its entirety):
Rule 24: Player Loses The Point
The point is lost if:
a. The player serves two consecutive faults; or
b. The player does not return the ball in play before it bounces twice consecutively; or
c. The player returns the ball in play so that it hits the ground, or before it bounces, an object, outside the correct court; or
d. The player returns the ball in play so that, before it bounces, it hits a permanent fixture; or
e. The receiver returns the service before it bounces; or
f. The player deliberately carries or catches the ball in play on the racquet or deliberately touches it with the racquet more than once; or
g. The player or the racquet, whether in the player’s hand or not, or anything which the player is wearing or carrying touches the net, net posts/singles sticks, cord or metal cable, strap or band, or the opponent’s court at any time while the ball is in play; or
h. The player hits the ball before it has passed the net; or
i. The ball in play touches the player or anything that the player is wearing or carrying, except the racquet; or
j. The ball in play touches the racquet when the player is not holding it; or
k. The player deliberately and materially changes the shape of the racquet when the ball is in play; or
l. In doubles, both players touch the ball when returning it.
There is absolutely nothing in Rule 24 that supports the opponents’ claim that they should win the point! A “miss” doesn’t change the outcome of a point once the ball has been served. And even though her racquet crossed the net and no contact was made with the ball or the net itself, taking a second swipe at the ball is not prohibited. And since she hit the ball before it bounced a second time, her shot was good and she should have had the point.
The point of this post is to know your USTA rules. If you don’t, you could end up giving away points – and matches!
