As spring sports are underway, The Chronicle is back with our breakdown of every sport, including key rules, terminology, tournament formats and more. Click here to access our beginner's guide to all other sports. This is our tennis edition:
Overview
College tennis has increasingly become a pathway for both international and American players to enter the professional ranks, and many talented players stay in school to get the experience of team competition. Each college team generally rosters between 8-12 players, often from all over the world.
In a college tennis match, there are seven total points available — one for doubles and six for singles. To start a match, three pairings of two players from each squad play one set (see the scoring section below). The school that wins two of the three sets gets the doubles point, and is said to have a 1-0 lead in the match. After a short break, six players — seeded Nos. 1-6 based on skill, with No. 1 as the top player — play singles matches in best two-out-of-three sets to determine the winner of the match.
The team that wins the doubles point only needs to win three of these singles matches to defeat the opposition, but the side that loses the doubles point needs at least four singles wins. For example, say that Duke won the doubles point and three singles matches, it would defeat its opponent 4-3.
Each player uses an elliptical racket of their choosing with multiple knotted strings, which make contact with the ball. Some players string their rackets more loosely to allow for power, while others opt for tighter strings and more control. Tennis balls are small and yellow, and the International Tennis Federation lists the official diameter as between 2.58–2.70 inches.
A tennis court is 78 by 36 feet, with a net in the middle that stands at 42 inches. Tennis can be played inside or outside depending on weather. The ball tends to bounce lower and faster indoors due to the smoother surface and lack of wind. Duke plays its indoor matches at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center and its outdoor competition at Ambler Tennis Stadium. More in-depth terminology of the court’s sections are below. -Ranjan Jindal
Terminology
Forehand: A one-handed groundstroke made with the player’s dominant hand after the bounce. For a right-handed player, a forehand is with their right hand.
Backhand: A groundstroke made on the player’s weak side after the bounce. For a right-handed player, a backhand is typically hit with both hands on the racket while turning to their left side.
Volley: A shot taken out of the air, in which the returning player does not let the ball bounce before hitting it.
Doubles alley: The area on either side of the court measuring 39 by 4.5 feet. It is only in play during doubles matches. A ball that lands in the doubles alley during a singles match is out.
Ad/Deuce: The court is divided into left and right halves. The left side is referred to as the ad side, while the right is deuce. Service for each game starts on the deuce side and alternates back and forth.
Service boxes: Two boxes by the next denoting the ad and deuce sides. Opponents' serves have to land in the opposite side service box to be considered in.
“No Man’s Land”: Area in the court between the service boxes and the baseline. Being caught in this zone makes most balls difficult to hit.
Singles: A match in which one player competes against another from the opposing team. In collegiate tennis, each singles contest won counts as one point towards the team’s overall score.
Doubles: A match where two players team up to compete against two other.
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Game: A scoring unit within sets. In a final match score (eg. 6-2, 6-2), the figures show the number of games a player has won.
Set: A unit of scoring that represents six games. Doubles matches are won with one set, and singles are played best two out three sets.
Straight sets: A term for a singles match that is won in two sets. This means the winning player won both sets in a row, and the match did not have to go to a third set.
At the net: In doubles, it is common for the players that are not serving or receiving the serve to start the point at the net, or inside the service box.
Let: A let, traditionally, is when the serve hits the top of the net and bounces in the service box. In professional tennis, the server must reserve after a let, but in collegiate tennis, play continues. A let is also called if a hazard, such as another ball, rolls onto the court, resulting in a reserve.
Love: Tennis’ equivalent of zero in scoring.
Approach shot: A shot taken by a player before coming to the net.
Double fault: Occurs when a player misses two serves in a row, resulting in a loss of the point.
Poaching: A doubles strategy when the player at the net unexpectedly moves to volley a groundstroke that was headed for the player at the baseline.
-Anna Newberry and Reagan Henderlite
Rules
Scoring: The basic unit of tennis is the point. A player must win four points to win a game (the terms for zero, one, two or three points within a game are “love,” “15,” “30” and “40,” respectively). If both players get to three points within a game, or 40-40, this is known as “deuce." The player receiving the serve gets to choose which side to return the serve from, and the player to win this point wins the game (see “no ad” below). A player must win six games to win a set; however, a player must win by a margin of two games. For example, if a set score goes to 5-5, then a player must win two games in a row to win the set 7-5. The players switch what sides they stand on after the first game of every set, and every two games after that.
If a set score goes to six games each, then the players will play a tiebreaker in which the first player to seven points — again, winning by a margin of two points — is awarded the set (see “tiebreakers” below). A player in singles must win two sets to win the match; a pair of players in doubles must win one set to win the match.
Winning a point: A point is awarded to a player when they hit a ball in play and their opponent is unable to return the ball or if their opponent misses two serves in a row, known as a double fault. Players are responsible for determining if their opponents’ ball is in bounds; however, the umpire for the match may overrule these calls.
Penalties: Penalties are rare in tennis and typically are punishments for unsportsmanlike conduct such as throwing a racket or shouting obscenities. These may be warnings, point penalties or, if severe, game penalties or match defaults. You can receive a foot fault for stepping on the baseline while serving.
No ad: In college tennis, a game tied at 40-40 is decided by one point, winner-take-all style. Similarly to eliminating lets from the service game, this rule diverges from professional tennis.
Tiebreakers: Tiebreakers are instituted in sets that are tied 6-6 to determine the winner. In traditional tiebreaker scenarios, the two players strive to win seven points by at least two points, such as 7-5, 7-4 or 8-6. Outside of the first serve — which is the sole serve for the starting player — the servers switch every two points. After six points, the two players switch sides.
Cheering: To the joy of more casual tennis fans, collegiate tennis holds relaxed cheering rules. Fans are encouraged to interact respectfully with players of both sides, and the players themselves are keen to let out large roars after points won or lost. However, it is still common practice to be quiet during a point, especially when a player is serving. -Alex Sizemore and Garrett Spooner
Season format
For the first time, the NCAA separated singles and doubles competitions, occurring in the fall, from team tennis, which occurs in the spring. In addition, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) hosts the majority of tournaments in the collegiate season and provides rankings for singles, doubles and teams. The NCAA championships are still considered the most prestigious.
Both men’s and women’s follow the same format, as both commence the individual portion of the season at the ITA All-American Championships in September. This is generally a very large pool of players from universities across the country. Ten singles players and four doubles teams advance to the ITA Regional Championships, consisting of 13 regional tournaments. From each region, two singles players and one doubles team progress to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in November.
Other opportunities to qualify for the NCAA Championships include the ITA Conference Masters and ITA Sectional Championships. Each conference suitable for team automatic qualification can participate in Conference Masters, where four singles and three doubles teams advance. Each sectional tournament will admit six singles players and three doubles teams. In summary, the NCAA Championships feature a total of 64 singles and 32 doubles teams, conducted in a single-elimination tournament, where seeding is determined by ITA ranking. In between the early ITA tournaments, sometimes teams will play in invitational tournaments to test out lineups or doubles pairings.
The spring team portion of the season begins with the ITA Kickoff Weekend, consisting of 15 four-team single elimination tournaments, with the winner of each qualifying for the ITA National Indoor Championships. This event, usually in February, is a 16-team single elimination tournament, crowning a team champion. These spring ITA tournaments contribute to a team’s national ranking towards the NCAA Team Championships in May.
In the dual-match season from January to April, teams play matches against one opposing squad. The spring season typically features 6-8 nonconference opponents and 10-15 conference opponents, including a single-elimination conference tournament. Each conference champion receives a bid to the NCAA Championships, and the remaining 32 bids are determined by ranking. Similar to the individual championships, 64 teams play in a single elimination bracket, with one emerging victorious. -Andrew Negus
Coaching staff and recent trends
Men: Under the leadership of head coach Ramsey Smith, the men’s tennis team has established a strong record. Of his 15 terms at the helm, Smith has led the Blue Devils to 12 appearances in the NCAA Championship and nine seasons ranked in the top 25 of the final ITA team rankings. In the past two seasons, Duke has kept that up with consecutive Round of 16 appearances and a strong roster of returners.
This season, the Blue Devils’ plate looks a bit different: They’re without former team captain and top singles player Garrett Johns. However, they have seven transfers — including reigning ITA National Rookie of the Year Cooper Williams — to fill that gap. After entering this season ranked 12th in the country, the men started off strong yet soon fell in a string of three ranked losses. However, after their 5-2 upset of No. 5 Virginia, the Blue Devils appear as formidable as ever. As the season ramps up, Williams and juniors Pedro Rodenas and Sam Landau will be the players to watch in a series of upcoming ACC matchups. -Prithvi Kotapati
Women: With 29 seasons under his belt, head coach Jamie Ashworth has led Duke’s women’s tennis to remarkable heights. Throughout his 27-year tenure, Ashworth commands a 620-160 record, while also becoming the fastest Division I coach to achieve 600 wins. Ashworth is also responsible for the programs’ first national championship win in 2009. More recently, the Blue Devils won the ACC championships in 2021.
Thus far, Duke maintains an overall record of 8-2 and conference record of 2-0, while also holding the No. 9 spot in ITA rankings. Coming off a dominant ACC opener weekend against Syracuse, the Blue Devils look like a brand-new team this season with the arrival of four new players, including freshmen Irina Balus, Liv Hovde and Ava Krug, as well as sophomore Eleana Yu. With the help of veteran seniors like Emma Jackson and Ellie Coleman, Duke is well-equipped to have another winning season. -Tyler Rogers
Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.