An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
The first usage of the word let in lawn tennis appeared in 1878, but that was not specific to the serve, but rather outside obstruction or interference, such as “an obtrusive dog running across the court, or anything of that kind.” I need to pause here for a moment to note that containing such specific examples would certainly spice up the modern ITF rules of tennis.
The word let, when used as a noun, is literally defined as “something that impedes: obstruction.” The idiom “without let or hindrance” is commonly used in British law to mean “without being interfered with.” With those two sentences this project has now covered the full spectrum of possible content gravitas, ranging from language arts on one end to funny YouTube videos on the other.
A receiver who attempts to return the service shall be considered as being ready. If it is demonstrated that the receiver is not ready, the service cannot be called a fault.
At the professional level, Rafael Nadal is the patron saint of slow play. Roger Federer has long been critical of Nadal’s pace of play, albiet it in the most gentlemanly way possible.
In tennis, the server has two chances to put the ball into play on each point. Today’s topic is the section of the Rules of Tennis that brings the concept of two serves into the game.
Without question, the two most painful times I have been struck by a tennis ball on the court were delivered courtesy of my own doubles partner. One of those was on my partner’s serve where I was hit so hard that the seams of the ball were clearly visible on the bruise. Fortunately that ball struck my butt, the most well padded part of my body. This brings us to the final way a service fault can be committed that I call fratricide.
We have been discussing the rules defining the service fault in tennis. The third in this series occurs when the serve hits a permanent fixture, a singles stick, or the net post before it strikes the ground. I have termed this type of service fault as “illegal contact.” It sounds so much better than another lap around the permanent fixture track.
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A whiff is when a player attempts to strike the ball in tennis, but fails to connect. This is not to be confused with a shank, which results when the ball connects with the racquet frame rather than the strings, scudding off in physics defying angles. There is nothing more ridiculous in tennis than the whiff.
I have been continuously writing about rules 16, 17, and 18 starting with “Serving up the Tennis Service” on April 1. The service fault is the penalty for breaking those rules. With a nod to Jeff Foxworthy, I now present a succinct summary of what has been discussed up to this point in time.
Shortly after I started this project, the USTA published a rules column on their national web page with a rules question about the foot fault. The “What’s the Call” section is updated monthly with a new topic. At best what was published in that particular column is misleading. Alternatively, it is flat out wrong.