Brian Dimsho is a USTA certified official and the resident official of the Orange County Grand Prix.

by Anonymous

Q: After the point has begun a ball falls out of the servers pocket and stops play .... Does the other side get the point or is the point played over? what if it happens again?

A: If play is stopped by the player who dropped the ball they whould lose the point. The rules of tennis prohibit a player "creating a Let or an Hindrance for themselfs" his/her Hat falling off, ball dropping from his/her pocket, or breaking a string on his/her racket. In the case of the ball dropping out of the players pocket or the players hat falling off distracting the opponent, the opponent could claim a "Let" (which must be done without delay) and the point would be replayed. But the opponent must call the "let" immediately and could not claim the "Let" later in or after the point. Brian