Lets, the Net and Touches in Tennis: When You Replay the Point and When You Lose It

Arguments on court are more often about the net than about the score. Did the ball clip the tape? Does a shot around the post count? And may you reach your racket over to the other side? This article covers exactly those situations per the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, mainly rules 22 to 25. For the basic scoring, see tennis rules.

A serve off the net: the let

A serve that touches the net, strap or band and is otherwise good does not count. A let is called and the server serves again (rule 22a). Mind one detail: a let does not cancel a previous fault. If you missed your first serve and the second clips the net, you replay only the second serve (rule 23). For any other let, the whole point is replayed, from the first serve.

It is also a let when the ball, after touching the net, hits the receiver, the receiver's partner or their equipment before it bounces (rule 22a).

A completely different situation is a serve that hits a net post or a singles stick. That is a fault, even if the ball then lands in the correct service court (rule 19c).

The rules also know a No Let variant (Appendix VI): a serve off the net is in play and the rally continues. It is an approved alternative, not the default rule. The default rule 22a counts a let.

A ball off the net during a rally

In a rally it is simpler. A ball that clips the net, a post, a singles stick, the cord, the strap or the band is good as long as it crosses the net and lands in the correct court (rule 25a). A lucky net cord is simply a legitimate point.

Two less common trajectories are also fine:

• A ball played around the post, above or below the level of the net, is good if it lands in the correct court. It counts even if it touches the post (rule 25c).
• In singles on a doubles net, a ball that passes under the cord between the singles stick and the post, touches nothing and lands in the court is good (rule 25d).

Reaching over the net

Your racket may cross above the net only after the hit, provided you struck the ball on your own side (rule 25e). Hitting the ball before it has crossed the net means losing the point (rule 24h).

The exception: the ball lands in the correct court and spin or wind carries it back over the net. Then you may reach over to the other side and play it, as long as you do not break rule 24 in doing so (rule 25b). You may even cross the imaginary extension of the net, before or after the hit, as long as you do not touch the opponent's court (rule 24, case 4). You may not jump over the net during a rally, though; that is a lost point (case 5).

Touching the net

This is the strictest rule of the group. If during a rally you touch the net, the posts, the singles sticks, the cord, the strap, the band or the opponent's court, you lose the point. It applies to you, to your racket (whether you are holding it or not) and to anything you wear or carry (rule 24g).

Typical situations:

• Your racket slips out of your hand and touches the net before the ball bounces: you lose the point. If it happens only after the serve has landed outside the service court, it is just a service fault, because the ball is no longer in play (rule 24, cases 1 and 2).
• The receiver's partner touches the net while the served ball is still in the air: the receiving pair loses the point (case 3).
• In singles on a doubles net, the posts and the part of the net outside the singles sticks are a permanent fixture, not the net (rule 2). A ball that hits them after landing in the correct court is your point. If it hits them before bouncing, you lose the point (rule 13).

Did you know?

• A ball in a rally that hits a singles stick and lands in the court is good. The same ball on a serve is a fault (rule 25, case 1, and rule 19c).
• Throw your racket at the ball, hit it, and both racket and ball end up on the opponent's side? You lose the point (rule 24, case 6).
• In doubles, the server's and the receiver's partners may stand anywhere on their own side of the net, even outside the court (rule 26, case 5). More on that in Tennis doubles rules.
• The net cord may be at most 0.8 cm in diameter, and the strap and band must be entirely white. More figures in Tennis court dimensions.