Scope and version
The governing rules used here
This page applies the 2026 ITF Rules of Tennis, current when checked on 28 August 2026 and issued by the sport's international governing body now branded World Tennis (formerly the International Tennis Federation). The controlling provisions are Rules 1, 2, 11, 13, 19, 22, 24–26 and 31, plus the No-Let alternative in Appendix VI.
The separate 2026 amendment notice was also checked. It does not amend the provisions that control net posts, singles sticks or permanent-fixture contact. The page states the international baseline for standard full-size singles and doubles, not the modified Red and Orange courts for 10-and-under competition, beach tennis or another racket sport. A sanctioning body may adopt an approved alternative such as No-Let, and an event's regulations control whether an alternative is in use.
Decision path
Five questions decide the ruling
- What format is being played? Singles and doubles do not classify every part of a shared net in the same way.
- What legal setup is in use? A singles net, a doubles net, or a doubles net supported by singles sticks.
- Was it a serve or a rally return? A singles-stick contact is a fault on serve but can be good in a rally.
- Was the object playable net equipment or a permanent fixture? Rule 2 supplies the key singles exception.
- What happened first? For fixture contact, a correct bounce before the contact reverses the winner of the point.
Legal setups
Start with the court required by ITF Rule 1
For doubles, the centre of each net post is 3 feet (0.914 m) outside the doubles court. For singles using a singles net, each post centre is 3 feet outside the singles court.
If singles uses a doubles net, Rule 1 requires two singles sticks. Each stick's centre is 3 feet outside the singles court and supports the net at 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m). The net is 3 feet (0.914 m) high at the centre. Posts may be no more than 6 inches (15 cm) square or in diameter; sticks no more than 3 inches (7.5 cm).
No sticks available? Singles on an unmodified doubles net is not one of Rule 1's compliant setups. The equipment should be corrected before play; an event referee should resolve any discovered match-court defect under the applicable competition procedures.
Classification
The same physical post changes status in singles
In doubles, the two doubles net posts are net posts. In singles with a dedicated singles net, the two singles-net posts are net posts. Rule 25 can therefore permit a rally return outside and even touching a relevant net post, provided the ball lands in the correct court and the other conditions are met.
Rule 2 creates a specific exception for singles played with a doubles net and singles sticks: the outer doubles posts and every part of the net outside the sticks are permanent fixtures. They are expressly not considered net posts or part of the net for that match. The singles sticks and the net between them remain the relevant net equipment.
Serve
Stick or post before the bounce means fault
ITF Rule 19(c) makes the service a fault when the served ball touches a permanent fixture, singles stick or net post before hitting the ground. Rule 19 Case 2 removes any doubt: in singles, a serve that hits a singles stick and then lands in the correct service court is still a fault.
That differs from the standard service let in Rule 22(a). A serve that touches the net, strap or band and is otherwise good is replayed; a service let does not erase an earlier fault. A net-post or singles-stick contact instead falls under Rule 19(c).
Competition variation
No-Let changes net-cord serves, not stick contacts
Appendix VI lets a sanctioning body adopt the approved No-Let alternative. Under it, a serve touching the net, strap or band is in play rather than replayed. Players should check the event regulations instead of assuming standard lets or No-Let.
No-Let does not convert a Rule 19(c) contact into a good serve. A serve that hits a singles stick, net post or permanent fixture before the bounce remains a fault.
Rally returns
A singles-stick contact can be a good return
Rule 25(a) says a return can be good after touching the net, relevant net posts or singles sticks, cord or metal cable, strap or band, provided it passes over and lands in the correct court, subject to the permanent-fixture and player-contact rules. Rule 25 Case 1 specifically says a rally return that hits a singles stick and then the correct court is good.
The word return matters. The same ball path on serve is a Rule 19 fault. It also matters which object was struck: the outer doubles post in singles with sticks is a Rule 2 permanent fixture, not the singles stick.
Permanent fixtures
The correct bounce is the dividing event
Under Rules 13 and 24(d), if a rally ball hits a permanent fixture before it hits the correct court, the hitter loses the point. If it first lands in the correct court and then touches the fixture, the hitter wins the point.
This sequence applies to backstops, sidestops, stands, spectators, other fixtures around or above the court, and listed officials or ball persons in their recognised positions. In singles with sticks it also applies to the outer posts and outer net. A permanent fixture does not produce an automatic let: Rule 26 expressly excludes permanent fixtures from its outside-control hindrance replay.
Around the post
A return need not cross above the net
Rule 25(c) permits a rally return outside a relevant net post, above or below net height, even if it touches that post, when it lands in the correct court and Rules 2 and 24(d) do not intervene. This is the familiar around-the-post return.
Rule 25(d) also covers the unusual singles-stick gap: the ball may pass under the cord between a singles stick and the adjacent outer post, without touching the net, cord or outer post, and land in the correct court. Contact with that outer post before the bounce would instead be contact with a permanent fixture under Rule 2.
Player contact
The ball and the player do not use the same test
Rule 24(g) makes a player lose the point if, while the ball is in play, the player, racket or anything worn or carried touches the net, relevant net posts or singles sticks, cord or metal cable, strap, band or the opponent's court. The ball is in play from the server's strike until the point is decided (Rule 11).
Timing can therefore change the call. ITF Rule 24 Case 2 says a racket touching the net after a first serve has already bounced outside the correct service court does not cause a separate point loss; the outcome is the service fault because the ball was no longer in play.
In singles with sticks, Rule 2 says the outer doubles posts and outer net are not net posts or part of the net. On the face of Rules 2 and 24(g), touching only that outer permanent fixture is not the automatic net-touch offence. Touching the singles stick or active net is. Opponent-court contact or a deliberate hindrance can still decide the point independently.
Approved attachments
A camera or sensor is not automatically permitted
Rule 2 Case 1 allows an object to be attached to a net post only when it is reasonable in size and placement and approved as Player Analysis Technology. As a guide rather than an absolute equipment specification, the decision gives dimensions of no more than 50 cm wide, 40 cm deep and 122 cm high, plus maximum inward, upward and net-plane projections.
This is approval for a specific PAT attachment, not a general permission for cameras, advertising brackets or improvised equipment. Rule 31 separately requires PAT used under the Rules of Tennis to be ITF-approved. The referee or event authority should settle the status of any unusual attachment before play.
Worked case 1
A singles serve clips the stick and lands in
Situation: on a doubles net correctly supported by singles sticks, the serve clips a stick and drops into the proper service court.
ITF 2026 ruling: service fault under Rule 19(c) and Case 2—not a let. The decisive fact is contact with the singles stick before the first bounce.
Worked case 2
A rally return clips the same stick
Situation: later in the rally, a return hits the singles stick and then lands inside the correct court.
ITF 2026 ruling: good return under Rule 25 Case 1. Play continues because this is a rally return, not a serve.
Worked case 3
The ball hits the outer post before landing
Situation: in singles with sticks, a player sends the ball wide of the stick; it hits the outer doubles post and then lands inside the singles court.
ITF 2026 ruling: the hitter loses under Rules 2 and 13. For this singles match the outer post is a permanent fixture, and it was struck before the correct bounce.
Worked case 4
The ball bounces in, then strikes the outer net
Situation: a sharply angled return first lands inside the correct singles court and then runs into the net beyond the singles stick.
ITF 2026 ruling: the hitter wins the point under Rules 2 and 13. The outer net is a permanent fixture, but the correct bounce happened first.
Worked case 5
A player brushes the net after the ball is out
Situation: a first serve has already bounced outside the correct service court; only then does the server's racket brush the active net.
ITF 2026 ruling: first-service fault, not loss of point for touching the net. Rule 11 says the ball had ceased to be in play, and Rule 24 Case 2 applies that timing.
Common mistakes
Claims that miss the controlling distinction
- “A singles stick is only a marker.” No. Rule 1 makes it the support that creates the correct singles setup on a doubles net.
- “A stick contact is always a let.” No. It is a fault on serve and can be a good rally return.
- “The physical doubles post is always a net post.” No. Rule 2 turns it into a permanent fixture for singles played with sticks.
- “Around-the-post means the ball must stay above net height.” No. Rule 25(c) permits a return outside a relevant post above or below that level.
- “A permanent fixture causes a replay.” No. Rule 13 awards the point according to whether fixture contact occurred before or after the correct bounce.
Officials and disputes
Classification is a law question; contact is a fact question
Appendix VII makes the referee the final authority on questions of tennis law and the chair umpire the final authority on questions of fact in an officiated match. Whether Rule 2 classifies the outer post as a fixture is a rules interpretation; whether the ball hit the stick, post, net or ground first is factual.
Before an unofficiated match on a shared court, confirm that the singles sticks are present and correctly placed. If an unusual attachment or defective setup creates doubt, resolve it before serving rather than inventing a local contact rule after the incident.
Official references
Governing-body sources and effective version
Checked on 28 August 2026 against the English 2026 ITF Rules of Tennis and the official 2026 amendment notice. The amendment notice does not change the rules covered here. Sanctioning-body or competition regulations may adopt the Appendix VI No-Let alternative or add court-equipment requirements; check the appointed event rules.