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Speaking only of FED rules - I'll leave USVA rules to someone who does USVA officiating although I think the rules are identical on this subject - all players (on both teams) except the server must be on the court at the moment of serve.
Rule 6-3-2, "At the moment of serve, (a)ll players except the server, shall be within the team's playing area and may be in contact with the boundary lines or center line but may not have any part of the body touching the floor outside the lines."
The foot can be on the line or even suspended in mid-air outside the line but if any portion contacts the floor outside the line at the moment of serve, it's an illegal alignment fault.
The server may approach the serve from outside the extensions of the side lines so long as she is within the service area at the time of serve or (with a jump serve) has left the floor from within the service area. Rule 8-1-2 The case book examples are clearer on this than the rule itself.
"Situation B: ... the server runs from outside the left sideline extension to jump serve from within that line extended and behind the end line. RULING: Legal."
[Edited by homer on May 3rd, 2004 at 05:52 PM]
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