GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
If a tennis ball breaks during a point, is the point replayed?
Under Rule 3 of the ITF 2026 Rules of Tennis (English), a point is replayed if the ball breaks during play. If it is only soft, but not broken, when the point ends, the point is not replayed. The rule draws that distinction without providing a detailed measurement test, so softness alone should not be treated as proof that the ball broke.
For Tennis viewers and players interpreting a ball failure during a rally · Updated
Breakage during the point means a replay
Rule 3 addresses a ball that becomes broken while the point is underway: the point is replayed. This is a rule about what happened to the ball during play, not a general policy for replacing equipment.
A soft ball at the end is not the same case
The rule’s case distinguishes a ball that is soft but not broken when the point has ended. That condition does not require replay. The published text does not supply a technical threshold or instrument-based test for breakage; do not invent one or equate a worn ball with a broken one.
Use the event’s governing rules
This explanation follows Rule 3 in the ITF 2026 English edition. The edition year does not establish which rule set a particular competition has adopted. Check the event regulations for a real match.
A fictional break and a separate soft ball
In one made-up rally, the ball breaks while the players are still contesting the point; under Rule 3, they replay that point. In a separate hypothetical, the point ends and the ball is soft but not broken; that point is not replayed. The examples do not set a test for deciding whether a ball has broken.
Related questions
Does a ball that feels soft automatically count as broken?
No. Rule 3 distinguishes softness without breakage from a ball that breaks during play, and it does not give a detailed technical test for that distinction.