A net touch is a let on a standard serve, but not during a rally.

The ruleset used on this page

This page applies the ITF Rules of Tennis, 2026 edition, the international baseline published by the International Tennis Federation (ITF Limited). The key provisions are Rules 1–2, 11, 13, 19 and 22–25, plus the “No Let” alternative in Appendix VI.

The ITF's published 2026 amendment notice changes Rule 18, Rule 27 and Appendix V; it does not announce a change to these net-cord provisions. The standard service-let rule therefore applies unless the sanctioning body or event regulations expressly adopt an approved alternative. This page does not assume that every professional, college, junior, club or local event has selected the same format.

“Net cord” is shorthand, not the whole test

The ITF wording distinguishes the net, its cord or metal cable, the centre strap, the white band, net posts and singles sticks. Those parts do not always have the same legal status. The phase of play, where the ball lands, the route it takes and—in singles—whether a doubles net is supported by singles sticks can all change the ruling.

How to decide a net or touch incident

1. Check the event format. Is standard ITF Rule 22 in force, or has the sanctioning body adopted Appendix VI “No Let”?
2. Name the phase. A service and a later return use different rules.
3. For a service, identify what was touched. Net, strap or band can produce a let; a singles stick or net post produces a service fault under Rule 19(c).
4. Judge the service result. Under the standard rule, net contact is a let only when Rule 22(a) is satisfied. A cord-touched ball that simply lands outside the correct service court is a fault.
5. For a rally return, follow the route and first bounce. Apply Rule 25's good-return routes and Rules 2, 13 and 24(d) for permanent fixtures.
6. For player contact, freeze the moment it occurred. If the point was still live, Rule 24 may decide it immediately; if the point was already decided, the same later contact does not retroactively change the result.

When net contact produces a service let

ITF Rule 22(a) gives two net-contact routes to a let:

• The served ball touches the net, strap or band and is otherwise good—most commonly, it then lands in the diagonally opposite service court required by Rule 17.
• After touching the net, strap or band, the serve touches the receiver, the receiver's partner, or anything either is wearing or carrying before the ball hits the ground.

A served ball that touches a singles stick or net post before landing is a fault under Rule 19(c), even if it then lands in the correct service court. A serve that clips the net and then lands outside the correct service court is also a fault, not a let.

A service let does not erase an earlier fault

Rule 22 says that the particular service does not count and the server serves again. A let on a first service is followed by another first service. A let on a second service is followed by another second service; the earlier first-service fault remains.

That differs from a general let under Rule 23. When an outside interruption causes a general let, the whole point is replayed and the server normally returns to a first service. Calling every replay “two serves” misses this distinction.

Some events make the cord-touched serve live

Appendix VI authorises a “No Let” alternative that removes the service let in Rule 22(a). In that format, a serve touching the net, strap or band remains in play: if it lands in the correct service court, the receiver must play it; if it lands outside, it is a fault. The alternative does not remove Rule 22(b), which covers a service struck when the receiver was not ready.

Appendix VI also permits one narrow doubles variation at the sanctioning body's discretion. When Short Sets, No-Ad scoring and No Let are all used together, either receiving player may be allowed to return a cord-touched serve that lands in the correct service box. Check the event regulations before applying that exception.

A legal return need not clear the net cleanly

Rule 25(a) treats a return as good when it touches the net, net posts or singles sticks, cord or cable, strap or band, then passes over and lands in the correct court—subject to the permanent-fixture exceptions. Play continues, or the shot wins the point if the opponent cannot make a legal return. There is no replay merely because the ball changed direction on the tape.

The same principle applies to a return, volley, groundstroke or drop shot after the service phase. If the return instead lands outside the correct court, fails to cross or strikes an outside object before bouncing, the player who hit it loses the point under Rule 24.

Over the tape is not the only legal route

ITF Rule 25 allows a rally return to travel outside a net post, above or below the height of the net, and then land in the correct court. It can also pass under the net cord through the gap between a singles stick and the adjacent doubles net post, provided it touches none of the net, cord or post on that route. These are good returns; the ball need not cross directly over the net.

A racket may follow through over the net after the player struck the ball on the player's own side. Crossing the imaginary extension of the net is not itself a loss of point, but touching the opponent's court while the ball is in play is.

The outer part of a doubles net changes status

In singles played with a doubles net and singles sticks, Rule 2 classifies the doubles net posts and the section of net outside the singles sticks as permanent fixtures, not as net posts or part of the net for the singles match.

That matters to the ball. Under Rule 13, if a rally ball touches a permanent fixture before its first bounce in the correct court, the player who hit it loses the point. If the ball first bounces in the correct court and then touches a permanent fixture, that player wins the point. By contrast, Rule 25's official case says a rally return that hits a singles stick and then lands in the correct court is good; a serve doing the same is a fault.

Touching the net loses the point only while it is live

Under Rule 24(g), a player loses the point if the player, a racket whether held or not, or anything the player wears or carries touches the net, net posts or singles sticks, cord or cable, strap or band, or the opponent's court while the ball is in play.

The moment of contact is decisive. The ITF's cases distinguish a dropped racket touching the net before a serve lands out—which loses the point—from the racket touching after the serve has already landed out—which leaves the service fault in place because the ball was no longer live. In singles with singles sticks, Rule 2's outer-net section is a permanent fixture rather than “the net”; touching it does not by itself trigger Rule 24(g), although interference or another rule may still apply.

Do not catch a ball because it appears to be going out

Rule 24(i) makes a player lose the point if the live ball touches the player or anything worn or carried, other than the racket. The same is true even when the player is standing outside the court and the ball appeared certain to land out: the ball must be allowed to bounce.

On service, the server wins the point if the ball hits the receiver or, in doubles, the receiver's partner before bouncing, unless the incident satisfies the service-let rule. One important exception is therefore a serve that first touches the net, strap or band and then strikes the receiver or partner before the ground: under standard Rule 22(a), that is a let.

Spin or wind can permit a reach across

If a ball first lands in the correct court and then spins or is blown back over the net, Rule 25(b) permits the opponent to reach over the net and play it into the correct court. The player must still avoid the Rule 24 loss-of-point acts, including touching the net or opponent's court while the ball is live.

This is different from reaching across early. Rule 24(h) makes a player lose the point for hitting the ball before it has passed the net. The exception depends on the ball having already bounced in the player's court and returned across.

A second serve clips the band and lands in

Situation: the first serve was a fault. The second serve touches the band and lands in the correct service court.

ITF 2026 standard ruling: service let under Rule 22(a); replay the second service. The previous fault remains. If the event has adopted Appendix VI No Let, the serve is live instead.

A cord serve hits the receiver before bouncing

Situation: the serve touches the net and then strikes the receiver's shoe before hitting the ground.

ITF 2026 standard ruling: service let under Rule 22(a). The decisive fact is the net touch before contact with the receiver. Without that qualifying service let, a served ball hitting the receiver before the ground awards the point to the server.

A singles return hits the outer doubles post

Situation: singles is being played with singles sticks and a doubles net. A rally return hits the outer doubles net post before landing inside the singles court.

ITF 2026 ruling: the striker loses the point. Rule 2 makes that outer post a permanent fixture in this configuration, and Rule 13 decides a fixture hit before the correct bounce. A return hitting the singles stick and then landing in would instead be good under Rule 25.

A player touches the net after the ball lands out

Situation: a player runs forward and brushes the net, but the opponent's shot had already bounced outside the correct court before the contact.

ITF 2026 ruling: the opponent had already lost the point. Rule 11 says the ball remains live only until the point is decided, so the later net touch does not reverse the outcome. If the player touched the net a moment before the out bounce, Rule 24(g) would make that player lose instead.

Five shortcuts that give the wrong answer

• “Any serve touching the net is replayed.” Not if it is otherwise a fault, and not in an event using No Let.
• “Any rally ball touching the net is a let.” A legal cord return remains live.
• “The net post always counts as the net.” The outer doubles post is a permanent fixture in singles played with singles sticks.
• “Touching the net always loses the point.” Rule 24(g) requires the ball still to be in play, and Rule 2 changes the status of the outer net section in the singles configuration.
• “A ball clearly going out can be caught.” Contact before the bounce loses the point; predicted landing is not a substitute for the actual result.

Fact calls and rule interpretation are different

Appendix VII makes the chair umpire the final authority on questions of fact during a match: for example, whether the serve actually touched the net or whether a player touched it before the point ended. The referee is the final authority on questions of tennis law, such as whether the verified facts amount to a let, fault or loss of point. Procedures in matches without appointed officials depend on the applicable competition regulations.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• International Tennis Federation — Rules of Tennis, 2026 edition, Rules 1–2, 11, 13, 17, 19 and 22–25; Appendices VI–VII
• International Tennis Federation — 2026 Amendments to the Rules of Tennis and Beach Tennis
• International Tennis Federation — current Rules and Regulations publication index

Checked on 28 August 2026 against the ITF's 2026 English rulebook and its published 2026 amendment notice. The ITF rules are the baseline; an event's sanctioning body may select Appendix VI No Let or add procedures in its competition regulations.