By far, the most common question I receive when people learn that I write a rules-centric tennis blog seeks guidance on when two serves should be granted following a first service fault. I consider this to be one of the subtle cultural norms of tennis.
“The Code,” touted as the unwritten rules of tennis, is one of the main sections of the USTA’s Friend at Court. It actually provides detailed guidance for this specific scenario. In related news, I am starting to suspect that the majority of recreational tennis players are unaware of this section of the USTA’s rulebook or have not read it even if they are.
Delays during service. When the server’s second service motion is interrupted by a ball coming onto the court, the server is entitled to two serves. When there is a delay between the first and second serves:
- The server gets one serve if the server was the cause of the delay;
- The server gets two serves if the delay was caused by the receiver or if there was outside interference.
The time it takes to clear a ball that comes onto the court between the first and second serves is not considered sufficient time to warrant the server receiving two serves unless this time is so prolonged as to constitute an interruption. The receiver is the judge of whether the delay is sufficiently prolonged to justify giving the server two serves.
“The Code,” USTA Friend at Court, Principle 30
While this is one of the more verbose principles outlined in “The Code,” there is still quite a lot of room for interpretation. For example, the first sentence starts with “When the server’s second service motion is interrupted…” That requires a definition of when the service motion starts.
One perfectly reasonable criterion is when the racquet starts to move. However, some players bounce the ball with their racquets prior to serving and consider that a part of their motion. An alternate approach would be to define the start of the service motion as when the toss arm starts to move. However, some players bounce the ball with their tossing arm before the racquet moves.
Additionally, an increasing number of players bounce the ball a lot before serving. It is the recreational emulation of Novak Djokovic, who bounces the ball so many times that the media has spent decades tracking the number of bounces. An article in 2010 from the Bleacher Report put his average ball bounces at 10 with spikes of 20 or more prior to serving on important points. I actually think his bounce totals have increased since that study.
In my matches, if the ball bounces are consistent and brief, I tend to consider that to be part of the motion. However, I think it comes down to my belief as the receiver that the service is imminent. I feel like that criterion has been achieved if I am loaded for a split step. That leaves a lot of gray area which is what makes this rules scenario so challenging to definitize.
In any case, “The Code” says that a first serve should be awarded if the service motion on a second serve was started, even if it is interrupted before the racquet hits the ball. Additionally, the server should receive two serves following excessive delay unless the server was the source of the delay.
The receiver is the judge of both motion starts and excessive delay. Tomorrow we will close out the weekend with some scenarios and the philosophy I use to make that determination in my matches.
- ITF Rules of Tennis, International Tennis Federation, 2023
- Friend at Court: The Handbook of Tennis Rules and Regulations, USTA, 2023
- The Five Most Annoying Habits of Professional Tennis Players, Kevin Young, The Bleacher Report, September 13, 2010.
