Service box
The marked rectangular area a serve must land in for it to be valid.
Definition
In tennis and similar racquet sports, the court on each side of the net is divided into two service boxes. When serving, a player must land the ball inside the service box that is diagonally opposite; a serve landing outside it does not count. The two boxes are usually described as the deuce (right) and advantage (left) courts.
Related sports use the same idea with slightly different names and dimensions. The service box tells both the server where the ball must go and the receiver roughly where to stand, so it is central to how every point begins.
Where you’ll hear “service box”
Sports that use this term:
Tennis
A singles or doubles racquet sport that blends agility, strategy and stamina on court.
Padel
A sociable, doubles-first racquet sport played in an enclosed court where the walls stay in play.
Squash
A fast, high-intensity indoor racquet sport played inside an enclosed court where the walls stay in play.
Pickleball
A friendly, easy-to-learn paddle sport played on a small court with a solid paddle and a light, perforated ball.
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Rules
- Tennis serving rulesThe rules governing how a tennis point begins, including where the server stands and where the serve must land.
- Foot faultA serving fault called when the server's foot touches the baseline or court before striking the ball.
- Badminton serve rulesThe rules for how a badminton serve must be delivered and where it must land.
- LetA call that stops a point and has it replayed without penalty, used across several racket sports.
- Out of boundsThe rule that a ball or player leaving the marked playing area is out of play and possession is decided at the boundary.
Skills
- ServingThe skill of putting the ball or shuttle into play to start a point or rally.
- Returning serveThe skill of reading and playing back an opponent’s serve to stay in the rally.
- Net playThe skill of controlling points close to the net with volleys and touch shots.
- FootworkThe skill of moving efficiently around the playing area to be in position for each shot or action.
- RallyingThe skill of exchanging shots back and forth to build and win a point.
Facilities
- Tennis courtA rectangular marked court, divided across the middle by a net, where tennis is played as singles or doubles.
- Padel courtAn enclosed court, much smaller than a tennis court, walled with glass and mesh so the ball can be played off the walls.
- Badminton courtA rectangular indoor court, divided by a high net, on which badminton is played as singles or doubles.
- Football pitchThe large rectangular grass or artificial-turf field on which football (soccer) is played, with a goal at each end.
- Multi-use games area (MUGA)A fenced outdoor hard-surface area marked for several sports, common in schools, parks and community facilities.
Playing surfaces
- Hard courtA rigid acrylic, concrete or asphalt court that gives a true, consistent, medium-paced bounce — the standard multi-use outdoor surface.
- ClayA soft, granular racquet-sport surface of crushed brick, stone or shale that slows the ball, gives a high bounce and lets players slide into shots.
- WoodAn indoor sprung timber or parquet floor — grippy, consistent and lightly cushioned; the classic surface for indoor court sports.
Tactics
- Serve and volleyAn attacking tennis tactic where the server follows their serve to the net to finish the point with a volley.
- Baseline playA patient tennis style built around rallying from the back of the court and constructing points with groundstrokes.
- Zone defenceA defensive system where each player guards an area of the court rather than a specific opponent.
- Wing playAttacking down the flanks and crossing the ball into the box to stretch the defence and create chances.
- Serve-receive formationHow a volleyball team arranges its passers to receive the serve and set up a clean first attack.
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- Content updated
- 2026-08-04
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