Court Advisor

Do you have a question or court situation
you would like a ruling on from our
Certified Referee?
If so, please e-mail via the "Contact Us" link below.

Question: When should the toss be made to determine who serves
first?

Answer: The toss should be made before warm-up so that the players
can warm-up on the same side from which they
play their first game.

Question: We were playing a match and the server hit the serve just as
I got up to the baseline, I had barely
looked up! Can she do that?

Answer: No! The server must wait until the receiver is in the ready
position and has a second or two to make eye contact with the server.

Question: A ball fell out of my pocket during a point and rolled up and
hits the net, just as it did my partner called "let". Can she do this?

Answer: No! Your partner is not allowed to call a let from a ball falling
out of your pocket (even if she didn't know that's where it came from).
Your opponents win the point because the ball hit the net.

Question: A ball falls from my pocket and is in the middle of our side of
the court. My partner doesn't know where the ball came from and called
"let". Can she do this?

Answer: No! Even though your partner did not know it came from your
pocket she cannot call a "let". A "let" cannot be called on a "hindrance"
your team commits even if it is an unintentional act (i.e., ball falling from
your pocket, hat falls off, or breaking a string). (USTA Comment 26.2,
pg. 23)

Question: Do we have to provide new balls for a third set? When we
were playing our match three members went to the restroom between
the 2nd and 3rd set and the 4th member used the match balls to
practice her serve until we returned. Because of this practice, we were
asked to provide new balls to play the third set? Was this correct?

Answer: NO! The home team only furnishes one can of unopened
USTA approved balls per match as per the CSRA WTL Bylaws (pg. 4,
LEAGUE RULES IV, H). However, the match balls should not be used
for "practice" between sets, this did not constitute a new can of balls
being opened because of this practice.

Question: I was standing behind the baseline as a ball came to me. The ball bounced
outside of the baseline and my partner immediately called the ball out, however I was in
motion and swung at the ball. We stopped play because of the out call and our
opponents got upset because they said I returned the ball. Who was correct? We took
the point.

Answer: You were correct in your call and claiming the point. You indicated that your
partner "immediately" called the ball out, therefore it didn't matter that you returned the
ball.