Watch a singles match and then switch over to a doubles match, and you might notice something feels a little different, even if you can’t immediately put your finger on why. Part of it is just the extra bodies on court, but there are actually several official rule differences between the two formats, not just…
If you’ve ever sat down to watch a tennis match and heard the umpire call out “15-love” or “deuce” and had absolutely no idea what any of it meant, you’re not alone. Tennis has one of the most unusual scoring systems in all of sports, and honestly, most people who play the game casually can’t…
If you’ve ever watched a set drag on and on, with both players holding serve game after game, you’ve probably wondered how it ever ends. That’s exactly what the tiebreak was designed to solve. Before it existed, sets could theoretically go on forever, and in a few rare, brutal cases, they actually did. Once you…
If you’ve ever watched a tennis match and heard the umpire suddenly call “let,” followed by the point just restarting, with no real explanation, you’re not alone in wondering what just happened. It’s one of those rules that seems random until you understand the logic behind it, and then it makes complete sense. A let…
Few moments in tennis feel as deflating as watching a player toss the ball up, miss the serve twice in a row, and hand the point straight to their opponent without a single shot being returned. That’s a double fault, and it’s one of the few ways a player can lose a point in tennis…
If you’ve watched a tennis match where a single game seemed to go on forever, with the score bouncing back and forth without ever quite finishing, chances are you were watching deuce play out. It’s one of the most talked-about rules in tennis, and also one of the most misunderstood by people who are new…
If you’ve spent any time watching tennis commentary, you’ve probably heard someone say a player “bageled” their opponent, and if you weren’t already in on the joke, it can sound completely random. It’s one of those slang terms that’s so deeply embedded in tennis culture that broadcasters use it constantly, without ever really explaining where…
There’s a specific kind of roar that goes up in a tennis crowd when a player blasts a serve so fast or so perfectly placed that their opponent doesn’t even move. That’s an ace, and it’s one of the most exciting, momentum-shifting shots in the entire sport, over almost as soon as it starts. If…
Every summer, tennis fans watch players slide, dive, and skid across a bright green lawn at the All England Club, and every summer, a new wave of casual viewers asks the same question: why grass? It’s expensive, hard to maintain, and every other major tournament moved away from it decades ago. So why does Wimbledon…
Ask any tennis fan which surface is their favorite, and you’ll probably start an argument. Clay and grass are about as different as two tennis surfaces can get, and that difference isn’t just cosmetic. It changes how the ball bounces, how fast points play out, and even which players tend to dominate on tour. If…