1. The match begins with a draw for the serve. This is done by spinning the racket – one player chooses which side the racket will land on (the side can be seen by the logo on the end of the racket).
2. The person who wins the toss chooses which service court they want to start from. The player changes service court after each point won until they lose their serve. Then the opponent chooses the side they want to start from and the situation repeats.
3. For a serve to be valid, the following conditions must be met:
   • The server must have at least one foot in the service box.
   • the ball must hit the front wall first above the service line and below the out-of-bounds lines (remember – red lines are considered out-of-bounds!)
   • the ball lands on the opponent's quarter court

4. The receiver of the serve may stand anywhere provided that their position does not obstruct the server. It is permitted to play the ball from the air (so-called "volley") before it hits the court.
5. During the game, the ball can hit any number of walls. The only condition is that it must hit the front wall before it hits the floor.
6. You can lose a point if:
   • the ball will bounce on the floor 2 times before being hit
   • the ball crosses any touchline
   • through your positioning on the court, you will prevent your opponent from hitting the ball when he is already prepared to hit it (the so-called "stroke" which you will read about later)

The game is played to 11 points. Each action, regardless of who is serving, ends with one of the players winning a point. So if you play an out ball on a serve, your opponent gets a point and takes over the serve.

Professional matches are played to a maximum of 5 sets (i.e. "best of five"). In the event of a 10-10 tie, play is to a 2-point advantage.

Disturbing the court

If you believe that there has been interference during play, you can always report a so-called LET (and only a LET). This is done by raising your hand and saying "LET please".

Usually, if the opponent is preventing you from reaching the ball, you play a LET (i.e. repeat the action). Also, if you think that by playing the ball you can hurt the opponent, report a LET and stop the shot. Safety

on the court is the most important thing!

If the opponent interferes with the direct hit of the ball, a so-called "STROKE" occurs. A stroke is an automatic award of a point.

As usual, there are many areas of dispute in the interpretation of LETs and STROKs – controversies on this topic occur very often even (or maybe especially?) in professional tournaments.

Finally, simplified rules for 2 situations:

1. Obstructing more than 1m from the ball:
   • could he get to her? –> LET
   • couldn't -> NO LET
2. Obstruction closer than 1m from the ball:
   • he could have hit her –> STROKE
   • couldn't –> LET

And that would be it. Remember, at the very beginning, the rules of LET and STROK are not that important. You will learn them with time (or like some who have played for many years – never 😉

Of all this, the most important rule is the following – do not play the ball if you can hurt another person, and have fun!