TENNIS AUSTRALIA
TENNIS ETIQUETTE & RULES FOR NON-UMPIRED MATCHES

1. Rules for Non-Umpired Matches
(a) Each player is responsible for all decisions in his/her half of the Court. He/she should be completely honest on all 'calls' but, if in doubt, he/she should give his/her opponent the benefit of the doubt and play the ball as good. You should not play a let.
(b) It is your obligation to call all balls at your end, to help your opponent make calls when the opponent requests it, and to call against yourself (with the exception of a first service) any ball that you clearly see out on your opponent's side of the net.
(c) Any 'out', 'let' or 'fault' call must be made immediately (ie: made before either an opponent has hit the return or the return has gone out of play); otherwise the ball continues in play. 'Lets' may be called by any of the participating players_
(d) If you call a ball 'out', and then realise it was good, you should correct your call, and, if a point ending shot, award the point to your opponent.
(e) In doubles, when returning service, the partner of the Receiver should generally call the serviceline for him/her. The Receiver should generally call the centre and side servicelines.
(f) If players cannot agree on the score, they should go back to the last score on which there was agreement and resume play from that point.
(g) Players are prohibited from checking the mark of the ball on their opponent's side of the Court, unless invited by their opponent to do so.

2. Etiquette
(a) When ballpersons are not available, all balls on your side of the net are your responsibility, to pick up and, where appropriate, return directly to the Server.
(b) The Receiver should not return the first service if it is an obvious fault -let it go by or ground it.
(c) Do not enlist the aid of spectators, including parents, coaches, etc., in making line calls, or attempting to determine other on-court matters.
(d) To avoid controversy over the score, the Server should announce the game score before starting a game and the point score prior to serving for each point.
(e) Wait until a point is over before walking behind a Court where a match is in progress.
(f) To retrieve a ball from another Court or to return a ball to another Court, wait until the players have completed a point.
(g) Do not stall, sulk, complain nor practice gamesmanship.
• 'Calls' should be verbal and clearly audible to the opponent, followed by a signal if necessary.

3. Off the Court
(a) Before a tournament, players must make sure that the entry form is completed in every detail, sent to the address indicated to ensure its delivery before entries close, and the entry fees are enclosed with the form.
(b) Players participating in a final match should make themselves available to attend the presentation of trophies, provided such ceremony is conducted within a reasonable time of the completion of play of a tournament.