The next way to lose a point is a player that fails to allow the ball to cross the net before striking it.
The point is lost if:
h. The player hits the ball before it has passed the net.
USTA Friend at Court, ITF Rules of Tennis, Section 24
There is a great clip of Novak Djokovic doing this on a point against Andy Murray at the Miami Open in 2014. Once again, the umpire blows the call. Predictably, Andy Murray is not thrilled and there is a long and protracted argument.
I feel compelled to note that I am not scouring the internet for clips of umpires missing calls. However, missed calls are the ones that tend to be captured and posted to YouTube, so that is generally what turns up in searches. Additionally, missed calls are usually great backdrops for more extensive discussions about the nuances of the rules. They are also fabulously entertaining.
One subtlety in this rule that is illustrated by this clip is that if a player strikes the ball on his own side of the net, the follow through can continue across the net to the other side. This is what the umpire seems to believe happened in the clip above.
Another nuance is captured in the wording of the actual rule. Players occasionally mangle this rule by saying that the player cannot strike the ball on the other side of the net. This is technically not correct. If the ball passes over the net but is carried back over by some combination of spin or wind, it is legal for first contact to be on the opposite side of the net. Here is a fun clip of that occurring.
In this case, the umpire got the call right and the announcers had no clue. The ball was shanked almost straight up with enough spin to carry the ball back over the net after it bounced. Milos Raonic does exactly the right thing with this shot, reaching across for a legal strike of the ball and flicking it back into the net.
Like so many of the other rules, in the absence of an umpire it is up to the player who strikes the ball to make the call on him or herself. This is another one of those cases where it is really difficult for that player to make the judgement call. As illustrated by the umpire in the first clip, this can be a difficult call to make even from the perfect vantage point.
- United States Tennis Association (2020) Friend at Court. White Plains, NY
