I thought that a rule was changed several years ago to address the situation when a serve is called out, the return is hit in and then the call is reversed by the returner. Wasn’t it ruled that the server should get a first serve for the mistake since the return was put into play?
— Norman Gordon, Denison, TX
No rule was changed, but The Code, Item 12, was rewritten five years ago covering this situation. If you call a ball out and subsequently reverse your call, “the point goes to the opponent and is not replayed.” And it makes no difference if it was a first or second serve, or if the return went in.
Except where noted, answers are based on the ITF Rules of Tennis and USTA's The Code.
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