Tennis Let Rule: Service Lets, Replay and Hindrance

A service let replays the service

A served ball that touches the net, strap or band and then lands in the correct service court is a let. The service is replayed and is not counted as a fault.

The same applies when the served ball touches the receiver, the receiver’s partner or something they wear or carry before hitting the ground.

This special treatment belongs to the service rules within the wider rules of tennis. A net cord during an ordinary rally does not stop play if the ball lands in.

The earlier fault does not disappear

A let repeats the service that produced it. If it occurred on a first serve, the server has a first serve again. If it occurred after a first-service fault, the replay remains a second serve.

The let does not rewind the entire service sequence. It says only that this delivery does not count.

That distinction matters because “play the serve again” is often shortened to “take two,” which is wrong after a second-serve let.

Receiver readiness

A let is called when the server delivers before the receiver is ready. The receiver is expected to play to the reasonable pace of the server, but cannot be ambushed while clearly unprepared.

If the receiver attempts to return the serve, officials normally treat that as evidence of readiness. A player cannot try the return and then claim the serve should not count because they preferred more time.

The readiness rule balances continuous play with a fair start to the point.

General lets replay the whole point

ITF Rule 24 provides that whenever a let is called, except a service let, the whole point is replayed.

Examples can include an accidental event outside the players’ control that interferes with play. The score returns to what it was before the point began, and the correct server resumes under the existing game sequence.

An unrelated correction does not necessarily generate a first serve. The ITF’s error-correction rules determine which prior events stand, just as its final-set tie-break rules preserve points played before a discovered error in many situations.

Let and hindrance are not synonyms

A hindrance is an event that obstructs a player. If caused by an opponent deliberately, the hindered player wins the point. If unintentional, or caused by something outside the players’ control, the point may be replayed as a let. The hindrance rule explains why ordinary crowd noise is excluded and why a repeated involuntary distraction can change the ruling.

Calling every interruption a let skips the responsibility question. A rolling ball from another court may justify a replay; shouting deliberately as an opponent strikes can lose the point.

Officials first identify the interruption, then decide whether it was deliberate and who caused it.

No-let formats are competition modifications

Some competitions use a “no-let” service format in which a serve touching the net and landing in remains live. That is an approved alternative format, not the default Rule 23 procedure described here.

Readers should therefore distinguish the ITF base rule from an event’s authorised format. The same principle applies to deciding sets: the 10-point final-set tie-break is now standard at the majors, but tennis still permits approved scoring alternatives.

Under the ordinary law, the compact sequence is simple: net touch on serve, correct box, replay the same service; net touch during rally, continue.