In a match last night, I was serving, threw the ball in the air, and started swinging my racquet. Just before I hit the ball, I stopped my racquet and caught it because I didn't like the toss. Did I go too far? Should I have lost the point? Or is it ok to still stop my serve at that point?
I recorded the match. This is how close I got to hitting the ball before backing off.
It looks like this case is not considered a service fault.
From https://www.tennisgems.com/ball-toss/:
the rules of tennis state that you are able to catch and redo your ball toss during the tennis serve. If your racquet has not made contact with the ball, you are allowed to try again.
A player, who tosses the ball and then decides not to hit it, is allowed to catch the ball with the hand or the racket, or to let the ball bounce.
Should i have lost the point? No. Or its okay to skill stop my serve at that point? Yes.
The rule is cleary on this one (Portuguese language, page 10 - paragraph 19)
Question: After throwing the ball into the air to perform the service, the server decides not to hit it and instead take it. Is this a fault?
Answer: No. A player who throws the ball in the air and then decides not to hit it is allowed catch it with your hand or racket or drop it on the floor.
