The bounce decides a permanent-fixture ruling.

The ruleset and version used here

This page applies the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, effective 1 January 2026, to standard able-bodied singles and doubles. The controlling provisions are Rules 2, 11–13, 19, 22 and 24–26, with Appendix VI covering the optional no-let service procedure and Appendix VII covering officials' authority.

The ITF's separate 2026 amendment notice changes Rule 18, Rule 27 and Appendix V, but does not amend the permanent-fixture provisions. A tournament may add procedures or use an ITF-approved alternative such as no-let service; its published regulations and appointed officials still control that event.

First ask whether the ball is still in play

ITF Rule 11 says the ball is in play from the moment the server hits it, unless a fault or let is called, until the point is decided. A fixture touch cannot reverse an earlier decisive event. For example, a first serve that lands outside the correct service court is already a fault before a loose racket later reaches the net.

A line is part of the court bounded by that line under Rule 12. In a rally, “correct court” means the opponent's court within the lines that apply to that match. The service box is handled by the service rules rather than by treating every serve like an ordinary rally return.

What the ITF calls a permanent fixture

Rule 2 includes backstops and sidestops; spectators; spectator stands and seats; all other fixtures around or above the court; and the chair umpire, line umpires, net umpire and ball persons when those officials or ball persons are in their recognised positions.

That covers familiar objects such as a back fence, indoor roof, overhead light and umpire's chair. “Permanent” is a rules classification, not a test of whether an object is literally bolted down: spectators are expressly included, while a bird flying over the court is not.

Fixture contact first means the hitter loses

Under Rule 13, if a live ball touches a permanent fixture before it hits the ground, the player who hit the ball loses the point. Rule 24(d) states the same outcome for a returned ball that strikes a permanent fixture before bouncing.

The ball's likely path is irrelevant. A lob that hits the roof, a drive that reaches the back fence on the full and a shot that clips a spectator before landing all lose the point even if someone believes the ball would otherwise have landed in.

Correct-court bounce first means the hitter wins

If the live ball first hits the correct court and then touches a permanent fixture, Rule 13 awards the point to the player who hit the ball. The legal bounce comes first, and the later fixture contact makes a return impossible without erasing that bounce.

A shot that catches the baseline and then the back fence therefore wins the point for the hitter. If the first bounce is outside the correct court, however, the shot is out; a later fence or wall contact changes nothing.

Singles sticks change which net parts are fixtures

In singles played with a doubles net and singles sticks, ITF Rule 2 classifies the net posts and the portions of net outside the singles sticks as permanent fixtures. They are expressly not treated as net posts or as part of the net for that singles match.

The singles sticks themselves support the legal singles net. A rally return may touch a singles stick and remain good if it then lands in the correct court; Rule 25 Case 1 confirms that result. The identical contact on a serve is a fault under Rule 19 and the same ITF case.

A legal net post is not automatically a fixture

For doubles, and for singles played with a correctly placed singles net, the applicable net posts form part of the legal net assembly rather than falling within the special outside-net fixture classification. Under Rule 25, a rally return can touch a legal net post, pass over or outside it and still be good if it lands in the correct court.

This is why the match format and physical net setup must be identified before the contact is judged. A doubles net post can be playable in a doubles rally, while that same outside post is a permanent fixture when singles sticks define the singles net.

Separate a fixture fault from a service let

ITF Rule 19(c) makes the serve a fault if the served ball touches a permanent fixture, singles stick or net post before hitting the ground. On a first serve the server takes a second serve; on a second serve it completes a double fault. A serve that hits a roof, outside net section or singles stick and later lands in the box is still a fault.

Rule 22 is different. Under the standard procedure, a serve that touches the net, strap or band and is otherwise good is a service let and that service is replayed. If it touches one of those legal net parts and then hits the receiver, the receiver's partner, or something either wears or carries before the ground, it is also a let.

A direct hit on the receiver is not a fixture fault

A player is not a permanent fixture. Rule 24(i) says a player loses the point if the live ball touches that player or anything the player wears or carries, except the racket. Rule 24 Case 7 therefore awards the point to the server when a served ball directly hits the receiver—or the receiver's partner in doubles—before bouncing, unless the contact follows a net touch that creates a service let.

Standing outside the service box or court does not make it safe to catch a ball. Rule 24 Case 8 says a player who catches or hits a ball before its bounce loses the point unless the contact itself is a good return. The fact that the ball appeared certain to go out is not a substitute for letting it land.

A competition can make a net-cord serve live

ITF Appendix VI lets a sanctioning body use the “No Let” alternative. In that format, a serve touching the net, strap or band remains in play rather than being replayed under Rule 22(a). The event rules should state when the alternative applies and, for the specified doubles combination in Appendix VI, who may return the net-touching serve.

No-let does not rewrite Rule 19(c). A serve that touches a permanent fixture, singles stick or net post before the ground remains a service fault. Readers should check the appointed competition rules instead of assuming that every event uses the standard service-let procedure.

The ball need not travel above the middle of the net

Rule 25 permits a rally return outside the net posts, above or below the top of the net, if it lands in the correct court and does not first hit a part classified as a permanent fixture. It also permits the ball to pass under the cord through the gap between a singles stick and the adjacent doubles post, provided it touches neither the net, cord nor post and lands in the correct court.

The decisive distinction is passage versus contact. An around-the-post shot is not illegal merely because of its route; in singles with sticks, striking the outside doubles post before the bounce is illegal because that post is a permanent fixture.

Fixture contact is not an automatic replay

ITF Rule 26 allows a replay when a player is hindered by an unintentional act of an opponent or something outside the player's control, but it expressly excludes a permanent fixture. A ball hitting the fence or roof is therefore decided under Rule 13, not replayed as outside interference.

A genuinely new outside event can be different. The ITF's own case treats a live ball hitting a bird in flight as a hindrance and replays the point. By contrast, an object already lying on a player's side when the point began does not create a Rule 26 replay merely because it later hinders that player.

An indoor lob reaches the ceiling

Situation: Blue lobs over Red. Before the ball bounces, it touches the indoor roof and then drops inside Red's baseline.

ITF 2026 ruling: Blue loses the point under Rules 2 and 13. The roof is a fixture above the court, and its contact occurred before the ground; the later in-bounds landing cannot repair the shot.

A baseline shot reaches the back fence

Situation: Blue's forehand touches the outside edge of Red's baseline and then strikes the back fence before Red returns it.

ITF 2026 ruling: Blue wins the point under Rules 12 and 13. The line counts as the correct court, so the legal bounce occurred before the fixture contact.

A singles-stick touch changes with the stroke

Situation: in singles using a doubles net and singles sticks, Blue's rally return clips a singles stick and lands in Red's court. On the next point, Blue's serve clips a singles stick and lands in the correct service box.

ITF 2026 ruling: the rally return is good under Rule 25 Case 1, but the serve is a fault under Rule 19(c). The ITF expressly gives different results for the rally return and service.

A serve hits the receiver before bouncing

Situation: Red stands outside the service court, and Blue's serve strikes Red's shoe on the full without first touching the net.

ITF 2026 ruling: Blue wins the point under Rule 24 Case 7. Red's location does not make the serve a fault before it lands. If the serve had first touched the net, strap or band, Rule 22 would instead make the contact a service let under the standard procedure.

How to decide a close fixture call

1. Name the ruleset and format. Confirm singles or doubles, the net setup, and any competition-approved no-let procedure.
2. Check whether the ball was live. An earlier fault, let, out bounce or second bounce may already have decided the point.
3. Identify the object precisely. Distinguish a permanent fixture from a legal net part, singles stick, player or unexpected outside interference.
4. Put the contacts in order. Fixture before ground loses; correct-court bounce before fixture wins.
5. Apply the service exceptions. Rule 19 controls fixture, post and stick contact; Rules 22 and 24 control net lets and receiver contact.
6. Use the right authority. In an officiated match, distinguish a factual contact call from an interpretation of the tennis law.

Fact calls and law questions have different authorities

Under ITF Appendix VII, the referee is the final authority on questions of tennis law. Where a chair umpire is assigned, the chair umpire is the final authority on questions of fact during the match. A player may call the referee to court over the chair umpire's interpretation of the law, not simply to relitigate a factual observation.

If the assigned official cannot decide a factual question, Appendix VII describes when the point is replayed. That procedural replay is different from claiming that every uncertain or unwanted fixture touch is a let. At an unofficiated event, use the competition's published player-call and dispute procedures.

Four claims that produce the wrong ruling

• “Anything around the court is a permanent fixture.” The Rule 2 classification and the recognised court setup control.
• “Any net-post touch loses the point.” A legal post can be part of a good rally return; an outside doubles post becomes a fixture in singles with sticks.
• “Any object contact means a let.” Rule 13 normally awards the point one way or the other; Rule 26 expressly excludes permanent fixtures from its outside-control replay.
• “A serve headed out may be caught.” Direct contact with the receiver or partner normally awards the point to the server unless a service let applies.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• International Tennis Federation — Rules of Tennis 2026, Rules 2, 11–13, 19, 22 and 24–26; Appendices VI–VII
• International Tennis Federation — 2026 Amendments to the Rules of Tennis and Beach Tennis

Checked against the official English ITF rulebook effective 1 January 2026 and the accompanying 2026 amendment notice. The amendment notice does not alter the permanent-fixture rules discussed here. Competition regulations may supplement officiating procedure or adopt an approved alternative such as no-let service.