The Rules of Tennis
As a refresher, the “Correcting Errors” section in the USTA Friend at Court starts out with the general principle that once an error is discovered that all points previously played shall stand. This is followed up with nine lettered subsections of specific procedures on how to correct errors once detected. All the interpretation of these lettered subsections has to be done from the foundation that once a point is played, that it stands.
During a standard game or a tie-break game, if the players are at the wrong ends of the court, the error should be corrected as soon as it is discovered and the server shall serve from the correct end of the court according to the score.
USTA Friend at Court, ITF Rules of Tennis, 27b
As I observed last week on discussion of 27a, the first phrase in this error correction procedure is strange. “During a standard game or a tie-break game” begs an a similar question to the one last week. Is there a scenario during a tennis match that isn’t a standard or tie-break game? I am coming to the understanding that the phrase really means “whenever a match is in progress.”
Underpinning this rule is the fact that once a point is played, that it stands. The way this rule is written, it doesn’t matter if points have been played from the wrong side or not. If points have not been played it is an obvious “oh yeah” situation and the correction is easy.
If points have been played from the wrong side, in my experience, there is generally some angst over the fact that points were played from the wrong side. Again, the principle of “once a point is played it stands” prevails. Any and all points played stand, and the players go to the correct side and order of service as indicated by the score. A lot of times that scenario is accompanied by some uncertainty over the score which is a different rules precedence.
There are a couple of scenarios where this could occur. By far the most common way I have seen this arise is in conjunction with the traditional tie-break game. In that format the players are supposed to change ends every six games. It is non unusual for players to forget to do that on every multiple of six. This is another reason I like the Coman tie-break system. The mechanics of switching every four points rather than in the middle of two serves from the same player reduces the opportunity to forget the end change.
The regular game scenario would be simply forgetting to change ends. This is more likely in singles, because doubles players serve from a designated end that does not change in the normal set. When I have seen this error in doubles it is usually coupled with an order of service error.
That is the topic for next Wednesday’s Rules of Tennis.
- United States Tennis Association (2020) Friend at Court. White Plains, NY
