awn or grass-plat by two, three,
or four players, with balls and racquet bats. The object of the game
is to strike a ball over a net and keep it in play backwards and
forwards within certain limits. The court or ground may be of any size
consistent with the lawn, the base lines being marked out by chalk, or
tapes slightly pinned to the turf, which should be frequently mown and
rolled. The mode of play may be seen from the following leading rules,
which are now generally accepted by all players.

2766. Rules of Lawn Tennis.

i. The _Court_, for a single-handed game, should be 78 ft. long and
27 ft. wide, and for a double-handed game the same length, but 36
ft. wide, divided across the centre by a _net_ attached to two
upright posts. The net should be 3 ft. 6 in. high at the posts, and
3 ft. at the centre. At each end of the court, parallel with the
net, are the _base lines_, whose extremities are connected by the
_side lines_. The _half-court line_ is halfway between the side
lines and parallel with them. The _service lines_ are 21 ft. from
the net and parallel with it.

ii. The _balls_ should be 2-1/2 in. in diameter and 2 oz. in weight.

iii. The players stand on opposite sides of the net. The player who
first delivers the ball is called the _server_, the other the
_striker-out_.

iv. At the end of each game the striker-out becomes server, and the
server striker-out.

v. The server stands with one foot beyond the base line, and
delivers the service from the right and left courts alternately.

vi. The balls served must, without touching the net, drop within the
court nearest to the net, diagonally opposite to that from which the
striker serves it.

vii. If the service be delivered from the wrong court it is a
_fault_. It is also a fault if the server does not stand in the
manner as stated above, or if the ball served drop in the net or
beyond the service line, or if it drop out of court, or go in the
wrong court.

viii. A fault must not be taken, that is, played back to the server.

ix. The striker-out may not _volley_ the service. Volleying is
striking the ball back before it has touched the ground.

x. The ball, having been returned, must be kept in play either by
volleying it, or striking it back after the first bounce. A ball
bouncing twice is out of play.

xi