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The ball hits your frame and then the strings on one swing. Legal?
One contact per shot. A double hit, even inside one swing, loses the point.
On a scrambled volley the ball catches the edge of your racket and then the face, twice in one motion, and goes over. What is the call?
One contact per shot. A double hit, even inside one swing, loses the point.
Why
A player may strike the ball once. Two distinct contacts on the same shot, frame then face, or face then frame, is a double hit and the point is lost. It is also a fault if the ball is touched by both partners on one shot. A single contact that happens to be off-centre is fine; what the rule prohibits is the ball being hit twice. In practice this is only ever called when the double contact is obvious, but it is worth knowing so you call it on yourself.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If you feel the ball hit your racket twice, say so. Calling it on yourself is how the game stays friendly.
Intermediate
Double hits come from a soft wrist on a fast ball. Firm the wrist on blocks and the ball leaves the strings cleanly.
Advanced
On a genuinely ambiguous double contact in a friendly match, offer to replay it. In a refereed match, the referee decides.
Common questions
On a scrambled volley the ball catches the edge of your racket and then the face, twice in one motion, and goes over. What is the call?
Point lost. You hit the ball twice. One contact per shot. A double hit, even inside one swing, loses the point. A player may strike the ball once. Two distinct contacts on the same shot, frame then face, or face then frame, is a double hit and the point is lost. It is also a fault if the ball is touched by both partners on one shot. A single contact that happens to be off-centre is fine; what the rule prohibits is the ball being hit twice. In practice this is only ever called when the double contact is obvious, but it is worth knowing so you call it on yourself.
Why not replay it?
There is no let for a double hit. The point simply goes to the other pair.
What should a beginner do here?
If you feel the ball hit your racket twice, say so. Calling it on yourself is how the game stays friendly.
How does this change for an advanced player?
On a genuinely ambiguous double contact in a friendly match, offer to replay it. In a refereed match, the referee decides.
What do the rules say?
The ball may be hit only once by one player on each side. A double hit or both partners touching the ball on the same shot loses the point.
Puzzles like this one
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One bounce on the floor, then any number of walls. Only a second floor bounce ends the point.
advancedThe smash sent the ball out through the side opening. Chase it?
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