A Review & Detailed Exploration Of
Double Faults In Tennis
A Review & Detailed Exploration Of Double Faults In Tennis
In tennis, players have two serves to start a point. Miss two in a row, and you’ve committed a double fault, gifting your opponent the point without them having to work for it.
Of course, no player is immune to the occasional double fault. Ask Novak Djokovic, the greatest male player of all time, who hit one on Championship Point at Roland Garros in 2012 and 2014. As painful as they can be, they’re simply part of the game, which I’m exploring in detail throughout this article.
From the origin story to a crystal clear definition, famous examples, and steps you can take to prevent them, I’m diving deep to provide you with everything you need to understand this term.
The Origin Story
We can trace the term “fault” back to the spoken Latin word “fallita,” which refers to a shortcoming or failure or later “faute,” describing a “deficiency” in French.
Tennis evolved from lawn tennis in England during the 1870s. Major Walter Wingfield, the sport’s inventor, adopted the term “fault” to refer to a missed serve, and players naturally added the word “double” when referring to two consecutive faults.
The term “double fault” has endured, becoming a universally recognized part of the sport’s unique vocabulary and one of many statistics recorded in professional tennis.
Definition & Meaning
A double fault in tennis occurs when a player fails to hit their serve in their opponent’s service box on both their first and second attempts, resulting in the immediate loss of a point.
Each service miss is a fault, while two misses equate to a double fault. However, it’s worth noting that a foot fault infraction can also result in a double fault.
For example, if a player misses their first serve and subsequently foot faults, they will have committed a double fault. Similarly, if a player foot faults twice in a row, they’ll also have committed a double fault, resulting in a lost point.
Double faults are significant for two reasons:
- Forfeiting a Point: when you double fault, you don’t even get the chance to compete for the point, so you’re handing your opponent a free point.
- Reducing Offense: when you’re on serve, you have an advantage during the point because you start the point on your terms. When you double fault, you’re giving up that advantage, increasing the likelihood that a player can break your serve, which is crucial to win tennis matches.
Of course, timing can make all the difference. If you double fault on the first point of a game, you have an opportunity to recover, but if you double fault on a break point, you’ll be handing a game over to your opponent without them having to compete.
Players can avoid double faults by developing reliable second serves, which are slower-paced and use spin to hit higher over the net, increasing their margin for error.
How It Happens
A double fault occurs when a player makes two consecutive errors on their attempts to execute a serve and begin a point successfully. Here’s how it typically unfolds.
- First-Serve Error: Most players hit their first serve aggressively to start the point on the offense and close it out quickly. However, the harder a player serves the ball, the lower the margin for error, so players often hit the ball into the net or serve it out of bounds. Furthermore, a momentary lapse in focus can result in a foot fault, touching the baseline before striking the ball.
- Second-Serve Error: Once players have missed their first serve, there’s more pressure on them to successfully execute their second serve as it’s their last chance to start the point. As a result, a player may be tentative and miss the serve, playing too conservative. Alternatively, they may go for too much when facing an aggressive opponent with a great return because they don’t want to make it too easy, resulting in a missed serve. Of course, a foot fault is also a possibility.
Once a player misses their second serve, either by unsuccessful execution or foot fault, they immediately forfeit the point and, in the unfortunate circumstance of a break point, also forfeit the game.
Examples In A Match
Relative to the number of successful serves, double faults are rare. However, despite them being less common, players can expect there to be a handful of double faults that will occur in any given match.
The following are a handful of examples where a double fault might occur.
Net Error on Both Serves
A player goes for a powerful first serve to the opponent’s body but catches the net, and the ball falls to their side of the court. On the second serve, they attempted a safer serve but prematurely dropped their head during the service motion, causing them to dump their second serve low in the net, resulting in a double fault.
Out of Bounds on Both Serves
A player aims for precision, attempting a serve down the middle of the court near the center serves lines but serves the ball just out of bounds on the first attempt. Feeling the pressure, they try to aim for a similar location with less pace and more spin but again miss the service box, leading to a double fault.
Foot Fault Followed by a Serve Out of Bounds
A player, frustrated by an unforced error they hit on the previous point, rushes to the baseline to begin the next point but starts their service motion too close to the baseline, touching it as they toss the ball, committing a foot fault. On the second serve, their frustration gets the best of them, and they overhit their serve, causing it to land out of bounds beyond the service line and resulting in a double fault.One
Net Error and One Out of Bounds
Attempting to serve out wide over the higher part of the net, a player’s first serve catches the net and doesn’t go over. The server senses the returner is leaning toward the middle of the court, expecting a second serve down the middle, so they attempt a gentler slice serve out wide but miss wide by a few inches, resulting in another double fault.
Of course, there are virtually unlimited scenarios and locations where a ball might miss, which could result in a double fault. Still, hopefully, these are some helpful examples that help clarify your understanding.
Infamous Moments In History
Since they’re less common and players are in complete control of their serve, double faults have played an intriguing role in matches throughout history.
Here are a handful of memorable moments that all of these players would undoubtedly love to forget.
Self-titled Double Fault Queen
Aryna Sabalenka played 55 matches in 2022 and served an astonishing 428 double faults in 601 service games, meaning she double-faulted once in 71% of all her service games, which is unheard of at the top of the game.
Thankfully, with her team’s help, she dropped that number by 44% in 2023 and has since improved this stat considerably, which helped her ascend to the No. 1 ranking.
Anna Kournikova’s Match Record
During the second round of the 1999 Australian Open, Anna Kournikova set an unpleasant record with 31 double faults in a match against Miho Saeki.
Despite this unnerving stat, she managed to win the match 1-6, 6-4, 10- 8, partly due to the staggering 149 unforced errors and 21 breaks of service between the two players throughout the match.
Serena Williams Infamous Double Fault
Playing Kim Clijsters in the 2009 US Open semifinals, Serena Williams stepped up to the baseline to serve at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set. She attempted her second after faulting on the first serve, but a line judge called it a foot fault, resulting in a double fault and bringing the score to 15-40, which meant Serena was still in the match.
That is until she started to threaten the linesperson, which resulted in a code violation and ultimately a point penalty because it was her second code violation of the match. The result: the match ended right there with the point penalty, leaving the players and the crowd stunned.
Djokovic Championship Double Faults
Playing Rafael Nadal in the 2012 and 2014 Roland Garros finals, Novak Djokovic handed both matches to Rafa with double faults, a feat on Championship Point that’s only happened a handful of times in tennis history.
In the first match, Novak was still very much in the match, serving at 5-6, 30-40, but his serve landed long. Two years later, in 2014, Novak caught the first toss of his second serve before pushing it long to nearly almost the same spot he had in 2012, once again handing Nadal the match, this time at 4-5, 30-40.
Dinara Safina Gifts Championship Point
In the 2009 Roland Garros final, playing against Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina caught the net with her second serve, which subsequently landed out of bounds, gifting her compatriot the point, game, set, and match.
Do you have a standout double fault memory? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Forced or Unforced?
Within tennis, we track errors as either forced or unforced.
The former is an error where your opponent hits a shot that causes you to miss yours, typically because you don’t have enough time to prepare for the ball or you don’t have a chance to position yourself to return the ball. On the other hand, an unforced error is one where you have plenty of time and are in a great position to execute your shot, but you still miss. Of course, there’s a lot of subjectivity there.
That said, a double fault is generally considered an unforced error. Not only do you have time and position, but your opponent doesn’t even have a chance to influence the shot. True, right?
Well, that’s where there things can get tricky. What if, for example, your opponent crushes your second serve several times, hitting several winners, and then you miss a second serve, going for too much and double fault because they’re putting so much pressure on you? Did they not “force” you to miss the shot by getting into your head, casting doubt, and pushing you to serve beyond your means?
Personally, I’d still believe it is an unforced error, but I’ll let you make your own distinction. At the very least, it’s food for thought.
Tips To Prevent Double Faults
Although preventing double faults is multifaceted, you can employ a handful of strategies to reduce their likelihood.
Here’s a few for you to consider:
Start With The Fundamentals
Developing a reliable serve takes time, patience, and years of practice. Proper technique, including using the continental grip, mastering the trophy pose, and perfecting your toss, is crucial to ensuring long-term success with your serve.
Develop an Ironclad Second Serve
You may have heard that you’re only as good as your second serve, which is sage advice. To succeed in tennis, you must hold your serve. One way to win more service games is to ensure your second serve is reliable and effective.
If you can confidently hit your second serve in your sleep, you take the pressure off and will rarely double fault.
Be Strategic With Your First Serve
Although it may be true that a reliable second serve will help you significantly reduce your double faults, you’d be doing yourself a disservice without thoughtfully considering your first serve.
Players often go for the biggest serve possible on their first serve and rarely make it, putting all the pressure on their second. Instead, if you go for 80-90% of your max power on your first serve and focus on placement, you can drastically increase your first serve percentage, reducing your double faults and putting more pressure on your opponent.
Use Spin To Your Advantage
Part of developing a successful second serve involves using spin to your advantage. When you hit up on the ball to apply aggressive spin, the ball clears the net higher, increasing your margin for error and reducing the likelihood of a double fault.
Build a Routine
Ever notice how players do the same thing every time they step up to the baseline to serve? It might be brushing their hair behind their ear, bouncing the ball the same number of times, or bouncing the ball through their legs.
What a player does is less important than doing the same thing every time, developing the muscle memory to execute, and reducing the likelihood of double faulting.
It’s worth noting that many double faults result from pressure, especially when players are new to competing. The best antidote? More competition.
The more you can practice getting comfortable in competitive environments, the more you’ll develop the ability to perform under pressure. It’s a learned skill that takes time to develop, just like anything in tennis.
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