Let Cord Meaning in Tennis

A let cord occurs when a serve touches the net cord but still lands inside the correct service box. In standard tennis rules, this results in the point being replayed with no penalty to the server. The umpire or an electronic sensor will call out let to stop the action immediately. The server then gets to retake that specific serve, whether it was their first or second attempt. If the ball hits the cord and lands outside the box, it is simply called a fault. This rule ensures that a lucky or unlucky bounce off the net does not decide the start of a point. For example, if a player’s first serve clips the tape and drops into the box, the umpire calls a let cord. The server then steps back and hits their first serve again. Some modern formats are experimenting with playing these let serves to make the game faster. However, the replay rule remains the standard in almost all professional and amateur tournaments worldwide.