After chasing down a wide serve in a singles match, my return hit the net cord in the doubles alley and landed in my opponent’s court and bounced twice. He called the ball out because it hit the net cord in the doubles alley. Was he right?—Larry Whallon, Olympia, WA
Did your court have singles sticks? If so, and if your shot hit the net outside the singles sticks, you lose the point under USTA Comment 13.1 because “in singles the area outside the singles stick is a permanent fixture.” But if you were playing without singles sticks your return would have been a winner under USTA Comment 13.3, because “the entire doubles net and doubles posts are respectively the net and the net posts for this match.”
Except where noted, answers are based on the ITF Rules of Tennis and USTA's The Code.
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