First Question: Ball Hits Scoring Device Mounted on Post – What’s the Rule?
Several times, I have heard members at my club talk about what the rule is when a player hits the ball, it bounces off the scoring device and lands in on the opponents side. The logic that I hear is that the scoring device is a permanent fixture or part of the net, and thus the call is good.
This is false, according to the USTA Friend at Court rules.
Here is the extract:
2. PERMANENT FIXTURES
The permanent fixtures of the court include the backstops and sidestops, the spectators, the stands and seats for spectators, all other fixtures around and above the court, the Chair Umpire, Line Umpires, Net Umpire and ball persons when in their recognised positions.USTA Comment 13.2: Who wins the point if a player hits a ball that hits an object attached to the net or post (such as the scoring device) and then lands in the proper court? The player who hit the ball loses the point because it hit a permanent fixture before landing in the court.
Next question:
Source: http://www.usta.com/Improve-Your-Game/Rules/Rulings/Net_play/
Q. I hate to beat the dead horse, but one more question about the net post. If on a court without singles sticks, a struck ball hits the top of the net well outside the singles sideline, yet lands in the court, is this ball still in play?
A. If you are playing singles with singles sticks, and a ball that is hit during a rally strikes the singles sticks and lands in the proper court, it is a legal shot. During a serve, a ball striking the singles sticks is a fault.
Any ball that hits the net outside the single sticks is loss of point.
If there are no singles sticks, and you have only the net posts, the same rule applies for serves and shots during a rally. A ball striking the net post during a rally and lands in the proper court is a legal shot, while a serve hitting the net post is a fault.