• The International Tennis Federation governs tennis throughout the world.Tennis ball and the shadow of tennis net image by Elzbieta Sekowska from Fotolia.com
  
  The International Tennis Federation (ITF) was established in 1913 under its previous name of the International Lawn Tennis Federation. The main objective of the association was to control lawn tennis around the world. In 1977 the word “lawn” was dropped from its title as, by this time, a majority of tennis was no longer played on grass. The ITF rules are used in all the Grand Slam events played throughout the world.
  
  

Court Specifications

• The court must be rectangular in shape and measure 78 feet long and 27 feet wide for singles matches. For doubles matches the length of the court remains the same and the width is 36 feet. The net which stretches across the middle of the court must be 3 feet high.
  
  

Equipment

• The racket must be no longer than 29 inches, including the handle, and shall be no wider than 12½ inches. The strings on the racket must be flat and have a pattern of crossed strings.
  
  The ball must be covered in fabric and be white or yellow in color. Balls may be changed during the course of a match after a number of odd games that must be agreed upon before the tournament begins.
  
  

Serving

• A coin is tossed to decide who serves first. The winner of the toss may either decide to serve or which end they would like to start the match from.
  
  Before the serve begins, the player must stand still with both feet behind the back line on the court. The ball must be thrown in the air and hit by the racket before it touches the ground. The ball must travel over the net and bounce in the opponents section of the court. If these requirements are not achieved, a fault is called and the player gets a second service. If this serve also fails to go over the net or lands outside the boundaries, the player loses the point.
  
  

Scoring

• Both players begin with a score of love, which comes from the French word for egg, as the shape of a zero is similar to that of an egg. The first point scored becomes 15 and the next 30. After that the score is 45. If both players have 45 points then the score is called deuce. If one player has 45 points and then scores another point, she has won the game.
  
  If the score is deuce, the game continues and the next point is called “advantage.” A player needs to win two consecutive points after deuce to win the game.
  
  A player must win six games to win a set. Men’s matches are played to the best of five sets and women’s matches are played to the best of three.
  
  Points can be won in tennis by successfully hitting the ball over the net and making sure it lands within the boundaries of the court. If the ball lands outside the court, the point is given to the opposite player.