Rules

1. Official Rules

If you have a tennis question, find the official answer in The ITF Rules of Tennis. (PDF).
- The ITF Rules of Tennis and Cases and Decisions are the official rules of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), of which the United States Tennis Association (USTA) is a member.
- Gender note: Except where otherwise stated, every reference in the ITF Rules of Tennis to the masculine includes the feminine gender.

2. "The Code" (Etiquette)

Friend at Court: The USTA Handbook of Tennis Rules and Regulations.

When a match is played without any officials, there is a code book to help you make calls on your own.
The code of tennis is also known as tennis etiquette.
When a match is played without officials, The Code shall apply in any situation not covered by the ITF Rules of Tennis

3. Still Can't Settle a Dispute? Hit the Forum.

Have you ever had a dispute with a fellow player over a call on the court that you couldn’t settle? The USTA constantly receives these types of questions from players and fans via the following forums:

The Final Word homepage
Improve Your Game homepage
- E.g., Here's what the UTSA says to do regarding cheaters: "Players who cheat usually do so because they feel pressure to succeed (from somewhere), but lack the ability to achieve it. Rise above this nonsense! The REACTION to being cheated does more damage than the actual cheating (for one or more points) over the course of a match. Focus entirely on your side of the court. Do not let anything that you cannot control have an affect, any affect, on your execution of the next shot." — USTA.com

3-Steps to Non-Accusingly Confront Cheaters

Tennis courts aren't the wild west—no need to call people out as cheaters, or just start a fist fight like they do in hockey. Figure out a more gentlemanly, subtle process to de-escalate the situation. Otherwise, it stresses everyone out and negatively affects the experience of everyone involved.

First offense: [Non-confrontationally ask] Are you sure? [Yes] Okay.
Second offense: [Walk closer] That one looked in. Sure that was out?
Third offense: [Call them even closer to the net.] "That one looked good to me. I know we both really want to win. Why don't we ask a line judge to call the shots for us so neither one of us have to stress about it."