My partner’s second serve was called out by the receiver’s partner. I thought the call was questionable, so I asked the receiver, “How did you see it?” He said, “Take two.” I said that was not an option and the point should be ours. His partner said it didn’t matter as it was originally called out; the receiver then said he would give us the point but play out the match “under protest.” What should have happened?
— Tom Hodgson, Madison, CT
It’s your point—but bear with me while we get there. The Code, Item 9, says “either player may make calls in doubles,” so the original fault call by the receiver’s partner was valid. Next, while the receiver’s subsequent statement of “Take two” was not clearly an admission that the serve was good, it’s close enough. The Code, Item 8, notes that when a player “offers to replay the point to give the opponent a break, it seems clear that the player actually doubted that the ball was out.” That doubt is sufficient reason to call the serve good. And finally, since the receiver and his partner are now considered in disagreement about the call, you win the point under The Code, Item 14: “If one partner calls the ball out and the other partner sees the ball good, the ball is good.”
Except where noted, answers are based on the ITF Rules of Tennis and USTA's The Code.
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