Common faults at a glance

If you commit a fault, you lose that rally (definitions in Section 2).

• Fault by the receiving team → the serving team scores a point (4.A)
• Fault by the serving team → the serve passes to the next server, or it is a side out (5.A.3, 5.B.5, 5.B.6)

Follow the link in each item for a full explanation.

The serve

• The serve landed outside the court, in the non-volley zone (kitchen), or on the non-volley zone line (kitchen line) → A serve that touches the kitchen line is a fault (7.E.1, 7.E.2, 3.A.4.c)
• The serve did not land in the diagonal service court → Serve diagonally (7.E, 7.E.1)
• At the moment of contact, you stepped on the baseline or inside the court → Where your feet go when serving (7.A.2.a, 7.A.3.a)
• The volley serve was not hit the right way (for example, contact above the waist) → How to serve (volley serve and drop serve) (7.C.5)
• You did not serve within 10 seconds after calling the score → Serve within 10 seconds of the score call (6.D.1)

During the rally

• You hit the serve or the return before it bounced → Two-Bounce Rule (10.A.1, 10.A.2)
• Your shot did not get over the net, or it landed outside the court → A ball that touches the line is in (10.C.1, 10.C.2)
• The ball hit your body or clothes → It's a fault if the ball hits your body or clothes (10.C.3)
• Outside the court, a ball hit you before it bounced → Even outside the court, getting hit by a ball in the air is a fault (10.C.3)
• The ball hit your free hand (the one without the paddle) or your arm → The hand holding the paddle counts as part of the paddle (10.C.3)
• You hit the ball twice with two separate swings, or you and your partner both hit it → Hitting the ball twice (double hit) (10.D.1, 10.D.2)

The kitchen

• You volleyed while touching the kitchen or the kitchen line → No volleying in the kitchen (11.A.1)
• The momentum of your volley carried you into the kitchen → Entering the kitchen from your volley's momentum is a fault (11.A.2)
• You left the kitchen and volleyed before both feet were back on the ground → After leaving the kitchen, get both feet down before you volley (11.A.3)

The net and your body

• You touched the net while the ball was in play → Touching the net during play is a fault (13.G.1)
• You hit the ball before it crossed the net → You cannot hit the ball before it crosses the net (13.F.1)
• Your ball went between the net and the post, or under the net → A shot around the post (ATP) is legal (13.D.1, 13.E.1)

Other faults

• You stopped play to point out a wrong server or wrong score, but you were wrong, or you spoke up too late → When the server or the score is wrong (5.C.1.b, 6.F.2, 6.F.3)
• The positions were correct, but someone other than the correct receiver returned the serve → When the server or the score is wrong (5.C.1.c)