*Provided by Shepparton Junior Tennis Association

Understanding some of the basics of tennis etiquette will help you as a tennis parent fit in and have an enjoyable experience whilst supporting your child to learn and develop as a player.

Line Calls

Each player is responsible for all decisions in their half of the Court. They should be completely honest on all “calls” but, if in doubt, the benefit of the doubt should be given to the opponent and play the ball as good.
In doubles, when returning service, the partner of the receiver should generally call the service line for him/her. The receiver should generally call the centre and side service lines. The call needs to be loud enough to stop their opponents/partner playing.

Communicate: Call the Score

If you are serving, before every point; call the score out loud enough for your opponent to hear. This not only lets your opponent know you’re ready to serve, but also prevents score disputes later.

Got Two?

Make sure the server always has two balls at their end of the court. When you are feeding balls up the court, hit or roll them gently within reach of the server, don’t delay play by spraying them around.

Respect: Don’t roll balls behind or onto someone else’s court during a point

If a ball comes onto your court from another match, wait until they have finished their point to return their ball or roll it back to the fence in-between your two courts (but not behind their court where they could potentially trip and fall).

Patience:

If your ball goes onto or behind another court, don’t retrieve it if the players are playing a point.

Fair Warmups
Before a match, players have five minutes or so to warm up. This is practice time. You should hit balls in a way that lets your opponent warm up, and they should do the same for you. When your opponent comes to the net, for example, don’t blast balls past them or right at them. Make sure they can practice their volley.

Don’t Play Out Serves
If your opponent hits an obviously out serve, don’t hit it back. Hit it into the net or let it roll into the fence behind you. Practicing your return makes your opponent wait to hit their second serve and may require them to clear the ball from under their feet.

Nice: Question nicely but only once
If you think (or even know) your opponent has made a bad call, you can ask once (per point) for clarification and that’s it! No matter how flagrant a bad call, you can’t argue. If there’s an official, you can ask for a referee to make calls, but it’s impolite to keep challenging the same call — and, you could be wrong!

Fun: Let Kids Play
Parents should not coach kids, make calls, explain rules or give coaching advice during junior matches. The only exception to this is if the association rules encourage this (often for beginners) and parents are unbiased, helping both or all four children. Getting involved with your child’s match also puts pressure on them and makes it less fun.

A Time and A Place

Be respectful of your opponent. While it’s fine to celebrate your successes it’s not polite to pump your fists, hiss “yes” or high-five spectators when your opponent makes an error.

Shake Hands

Players are expected at all times to shake hands with their opponent(s) at the completion of a match.