DID YOU KNOW?
Tennis can be played indoors or outdoors. It can be played on
natural grass or on an
artificial surface
. The size of the court is
the same no matter what. So what’s with all the different lines?
The boundaries—what’s “in bounds” and what’s “out of bounds”—
are different depending on how many people are playing. When
two people are playing against each other it’s called singles, and
the playing area is smaller. When four people are playing—two
against two—it’s called doubles, and the playing area is bigger.
That’s why there are so many confusing lines on a tennis court!
After the serve, tennis players can hit the ball
wherever they want to, as long as it goes over the net,
and as long as it lands inside the lines.
The goal is to hit the
ball far enough away from
the other player so she
can’t hit it back. But you
also can’t hit it too far or
it will go out of bounds. If
the ball bounces twice on
your side, the other player
gets the point!
10
