The warm-up is a five-minute period when both players are on court to prepare for the match. According to WSF Rule 3.2: ‘In the warm-up both players must have equal opportunities of striking the ball. A player retaining the ball for an unreasonable time is warming up unfairly.’ This rule does not mean that, because your opponent hits the ball five or six times back to themselves, you should do the same. The recommended warm-up is one, or, at most, two shots to yourself, and then hit the ball back to your opponent. It’s up to the players to take responsibility for ensuring that both receive the same level of warm-up before spinning for serve!
