Condensed version of The Code,
governing self-officiated play:
- The oldest tradition in
tennis is to give your opponent the benefit of the
doubt; this means that any ball that cannot be called out with surety
is presumed to be good and continues in
play. Therefore, no point should ever
be replayed because a player is not sure whether a ball was in or out--if
you're not sure, then it was in!
- All players should
cooperate to attain accuracy in making line calls. You
are obligated to call all balls on your side, to help your opponent make
calls when the opponent requests (!), and to call against yourself (with
the exception of a first service) any ball that you clearly see out on
your opponent's side of the net.
- Any call of out or let
must be made instantaneously (that is, before either
an opponent has hit the return, or before the ball has gone out of play);
otherwise, the ball continues in play.
- Don't practice the
"two chance" option. (Example: As player B is about to
hit an easy putaway, he sees a ball from an adjoining court rolling toward
him. B goes ahead and smashes the putaway--but hits the net, losing the
point. Then B makes a claim for a let, which is obviously not valid. B
could have had a let had he stopped when
he first saw the ball rolling towards
him, but when he saw it and continued on to hit the easy shot, he forfeited
his right to a let. He took his chance, and he is not entitled to a
second one.)
- Don't enlist the aid of a
spectator in making a call.
- Don't stall, sulk,
complain, or practice unethical gamesmanship. Instead,
conduct yourself in such a fashion as to make the match fun for all
participants.
- No system of rules will
cover every specific situation, but following the
principles of The Code should, by extrapolation, provide a solution for
any problem.
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