Have you ever had a dispute with a fellow player over a call on the court that you couldn’t settle? Or have you ever wondered why a certain ruling was made during a match you were watching? Maybe you’re just curious about how some scenarios, from the common to the ridiculous, are resolved.
USTA Director of Officials, Richard Kaufman, is here to answer your questions. Each week, he will select a few submissions and supply the definitive rulings through a Q&A.
Have a question of your own? Click here to submit your question to The Final Word.
* Please note, due to the volume of emails Rich receives, he is not able to answer every email.
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Subject: Bouncing the Ball before the Serve
I was informed by another player that (according to USTA rules) a fault could be called on my serve because I bounce the ball on the ground with my racket a few times and then serve the ball. I have been playing tennis for 35 years and have never heard of this rule. I know that Nadal, Isner and Roddick all bounce the ball on the court with their racket before they serve. Is there such a rule?
Rich
KAUFMAN: It is permitted and as you mention, you have seen the pros do it.
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Subject: Inspecting Marks on Hard Courts
PLEASE tell me where in the code or whatever that it clearly states "you may not use marks on a hard court to make a line call" If it is not CLEARLY stated then please elaborate. I constantly have players in tournaments and league play who (from my perspective) see the ball land and then scan the line for "THE MARK" as if they know exactly where the ball skidded and then eventually point to a mark that supports their hope of an out call. This usually takes more than 2 seconds (which does not seem prompt) but less than 10 seconds. Please help me with this before I go postal on the next line calling cheat.
Steve
Ft. Worth, TX
KAUFMAN: Calls on hard courts must be immediate. There are no ball mark inspections on a hard court. If they do not call the ball out immediately, then the ball should be considered good.
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Subject: Whose Point?
A ball is returned and I'm standing behind the baseline. The ball looks like it's going out and lands beyond the baseline but it does hit my shoe. Can't really tell if it was before or after the bounce.
Stanford
KAUFMAN: If you cannot determine if the ball hit your foot first or the court first, then you can only assume that the ball hit your foot first and you lose the point.