Court of Appeals: No Strings Attached

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The tennis spring swing is in full force, and with the return to clay courts comes more debates over lines and serves, questionable calls, and the perennial query: What does The Code say?

Court of Appeals is here to clear the air. Rebel Good, a past editor of Friend at Court, the USTA’s handbook of rules and regulations, has taught officiating for more than 30 years and will resolve all your rules questions and quarrels.

No Strings Attached

The receiver broke a string trying to return a first-serve fault. The receiver got a replacement racquet but had difficulty in placing the dampener. After more than a minute, play resumed. The next serve was a fault and was deemed a double fault. Should the receiver have been allowed to replace the racquet between first and second serve? If so, should the server be automatically be granted a first serve? Also, is the server allowed to change racquets if the string is broken on a first serve fault?)

— Rink Murray, Chattanooga, TN

A server or receiver breaking a string is allowed to replace their racquet after a first-serve fault (but is not required to). Under The Code, #30, the server gets a first serve if the receiver changes racquets because the receiver caused the delay between serves. If the server changes racquets it's just a second serve because they delayed themself.

—Rebel Good

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