Shanimuni Go - Introduction to tennis

If you like sports or you were born in Earth, you probably have at least a general idea of how tennis works (throw ball into other side of net with guitar-like instrument and pray it lands between the white lines), but after that, things can get confusing. This page aims to remind or teach the reader about the basics of the tennis play, which will probably make your reading of Shanimuni Go a lot easier.

Luckily enough, Japanese tennis has kept the English words used for the scoring and the different technics, so you don't have to worry about getting stuck with a ton of unknown kanji ;)

(All text by Zahara Medina, please don't use without permission! If you see any glaring errors or wish to give a comment, please email me.)

The Court:
Rectangular with a net in the middle:

(with measurements)

There are two ways of playing tennis: Singles (one vs. one), or Doubles (two vs. two). Depending on which way you are playing it, you use the whole court or just part. (Also, in the case of Doubles, when one team is much stronger than the other, they might decide to use the singles court to give the weaker team some advantage)

Singles:		Doubles:

The Scoring:

In the land of perfection, the basic tenis scoring goes like this:
4 won points = 1 game
6 won games = 1 set
2 out of 3 sets win / 3 out of 5 sets win = match win
But since we live in reality...

Points/Game:
The 4 points in a game have their own scoring names. It goes like: 15, 30, 40, game won. When a player has no points, his scoring is "love." When both players have the same points, it's said "(number of points) all." When both players have a score of 40 it's called "deuce"; in this case, to win the set one of the players must win two points in succession (after the player wins the first of these two points, it's called as "advantage").
It's important to remember that the serving player's score is the first listed / announced (this makes matches confusing because many times the way the referee announces the points is different from how the players are listed in the scoreboard.)

Examples: (Assuming Player B is serving)

Points for Player A	-	Points for Player B		You say / you'll hear:
15	-	15		Fifteen all
0	-	30		thirty - love
15	-	0		love - fifteen
40	-	40		Deuce
40	-	40 (+1)		Advantage Player B

The point to be played that might give a player a set win is called "set point," the point to be played that might give a player a win on the match is called "match point" (you use this name as many times as this situation happens).

Game/Set:
A match can have either 3 or 5 sets in total, the winner of the match is decided by who wins the most sets (if it's a 3 set match, the winner if the first to win 2 sets; if it's a 5 set match, the winner is the first to win 3 sets). The number of sets is decided based on gender, age and what type of competition it is.

6 won games make a set win... unless both players have 5 games. Just like with deuce, in this case a player must win two games in succession to win the set.
Since this could conciveably go on forever, a new rule was introduced in the 70s: If both players reach 6 games, the winner of the set can decided by tie-break.

A tie-break means that the player that reaches 7 points wins the set. If both players arrive to 6 points, the winner is the player that wins two points in succession. A tie-break can be used in all sets unless it's the 3/3 set or the 5/5 set (aka, the last set that could be played in a match), in that case a player must win two games in a row to win the set/match.
Note: Depending of what type of competition it is, a tie-break might or might not be used.

Examples:

Set #	Player A won games	-	Player B won games		It goes to:
					3 Set Match A:
1st set	4	-	6		Player B wins the set.
2nd set	5	-	7		Player B wins the set and the Match. No more sets are played.
					3 Set Match B:
1st set	6	-	6		Set is decided by tie-break. (let's assume Player A wins the tie-break, score would be 7-6)
2nd set	2	-	6		Player B wins the set.
3rd set	8	-	6		Player A wins the set and the match.

The Serve:

The serving player is the one that serves the ball. The first server is decided at the start of the match by coin tossing (winner chooses side or service).
For a valid serve, a player must stand behind the baseline without touching it, between the central mark and one of the sides (first side line if singles, second if doubles), and throw the ball into the service box oppiste to him/her diagonally without touching the net:

After each point, the server must change sides in the baseline to serve.

The server has two opportunities to make a valid serve/service. A failed serve is called "fault," after two faults ("double fault"), the other player wins the point. A ball that lands in the line is considered in (the chair judge (umpire) can overrule the line judges decision).
If the ball touches the top of the net, the serve is considered nule (it's called "let") and the server can serve again without it being considered a fault. This is also the case if the player throws the ball in the air to make a serve but ends up not trying to make the shot (if s/he tries and misses the ball, that's a fault and probably a moment to be relived forever in her/his worst nightmares).

Unlike similar serving ball sports like volley, a player can't run or walk while/previous to making the serve, although s/he can jump. The serve can be made by throwing the ball up, or just letting it fall, it doesn't matter as long as the ball starts from the hand and is in the air before being hit by the racket.

Service changes between players with the start of each new game. When a player wins a game that is served by the other player it's called "service break."
In the case of a tie-break, the player who should serve in the set keeps the service for the first point, the other player then has the service for the following two points, then it returns to the first player for the following two points, and so on.

Changing sides:

Players exchange sides of the court after the first game and then on uneven games. If the set ends with an even number of games, players don't exchange sides until after the end of the first game of the following set. If it ends in an uneven number, they change right away (and then again after the first game, etc...).
In a tie-break, players exchange sides after each 6 points.

No-advantage, tie-breaks and similar decisions
The decision of wherever to use no-advantage (it eliminates the deuce situation) or tie-break or other similar things has to be done before the match starts.

All images © RAGAWA Marimo, Hakusensha (except backgrounds and those cute tennis courts).