An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
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.
The most famously epic meltdown over a foot fault call was Serena Williams against Kim Clijsters in the 2009 US Open semifinals. Serena was down a set and serving at 5-6, 15-30 when a foot fault was called on a second serve, resulting in two match points for Clijsters.
The Foot Fault rule in tennis is somewhat unique in the USTA Friend at Court/ITF Rules of Tennis. It is the first section that consists exclusively as a litany of things that the server is prohibited from doing.
This section contains the description of where the server stands and the fact that the position alternates sides each point. Additionally it is indicated that that the first serve is delivered from the right half of the court in every game.
The tennis serve should be one of the easiest shots in all of tennis. The server’s opponent has no influence whatsoever on the delivery of the serve. It is the only shot in tennis that is completely within the server’s control. The service motion starts with a toss of the ball.
The USTA issued two comments against the ITF Order of Receiving rule. Today we revisit USTA comments in the context of these two enhancements.
I am fundamentally disturbed that I am spending more days on Order of Receiving than on Order of Service. The universe is out of balance. I’m laying the blame for this squarely on the doorstep of COVID-19 and the global pandemic.
A case ruling associated with Order of Receiving sends us off into an alternate universe of three person doubles. This can only end with a Code Violation.
I am primarily regarded as a singles player. As an introvert, I am wired to enjoy the solitude and isolation of playing singles. This placesRead More
I have a reverence for the Order of Service, almost regarding it a basic sacrament of tennis. It provides a rhythm and cycle to tennis not unlike the ebb and flow of the tides.