Be the Referee: Fixed Obstruction in Tennis
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
May 21, 2025
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Fixed Obstruction in Tennis - Listen
We’re playing tennis today and due to the rain outside, we’ve moved our match to an indoor court. In the second set, after a couple of volleys, I’m forced to retreat to the back line and hit a high lob shot. Too high in fact … as the ball hits the ceiling and then comes down on my opponent’s side of the net.
What should happen next?
Should my opponent play the ball as they normally would? My shot landed on their side, so it doesn’t matter if it hit the ceiling?
Or, do I lose a point because my shot hit the ceiling?
In tennis, if a ball touches a permanent fixture, like the ceiling, before hitting the proper court, the player who hit the ball loses the point.
In this case, I lose the point since it was my shot hitting the ceiling.
Previous 2024-25 Editions
May 13: Golf Cart Path Roll - Listen
May 6: Damaged Softball Bats - Listen
April 30: Golf Relief - Listen
April 22: Soccer Scoring Area Penalty - Listen
April 15: Fair or Foul? - Listen
April 8: Girls Lacrosse New Stoppage Rule - Listen
April 1: Base Runner Interference - Listen
March 25: Pine Tar Usage - Listen
March 11: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 4: Gymnastics Deduction - Listen
Feb. 25: Competitive Cheer Inversion - Listen
Feb. 18: Ice Hockey Delay of Game - Listen
Feb. 11: Ski Helmets - Listen
Feb. 4: Wrestling In Bounds or Out? - Listen
Jan. 21: Block or Charge? - Listen
Jan. 14: Out of Bounds, In Play - Listen
Jan. 7: Wrestling Scoring - Listen
Dec. 17: Bowling Ball Rules - Listen
Dec. 10: Neck Laceration Protector - Listen
Dec. 3: Basketball Goaltending - Listen
Nov. 26: 11-Player Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 19: 8-Player vs. 11-Player Football - Listen
Nov. 12: Back Row Setter - Listen
Nov. 5: Football OT - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Registration - Listen
Oct. 22: Volleyball Serve - Listen
Oct. 15: "You Make the Call" - Soccer Offside - Listen
Oct. 8: Roughing the Passer - Listen
Oct. 1: Abnormal Course Condition - Listen
Sept. 25: Tennis Nets - Listen
Sept. 18: Libero - Listen
Sept. 10: Cross Country Uniforms - Listen
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen
Performance of the Week: Imlay City's Levi Lengemann
October 16, 2026
Levi Lengemann ♦ Imlay City
Senior ♦ Tennis
Lengemann won both of his matches at No. 1 singles Oct. 5 at the Blue Water Area Conference Tournament, completing a perfect run against league competition this fall and leading Imlay City to its first league championship in boys tennis since 1984. He finished this season 17-4 overall and was named BWAC Most Valuable Player.
The Spartans' ace hadn't played much tennis before high school but began his career playing No. 4 singles as a freshman. He climbed the next season into the No. 2 spot before playing No. 1 his final two seasons, and he finished with a 41-31 career record. Lengemann also plays baseball for Imlay City and previously played basketball. He's considering studying business in college and would like to eventually become an electrician.
@mhsaasports 🎾POW: Levi Lengemann #ImlayCity #Tennis #ConferenceChamps #PerformanceOfTheWeek #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🎾POW: Levi Lengemann #TikTalk #FunFacts #Interview #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
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Past 2026-27 honorees
Oct. 9: Olivia Buford, Sterling Heights Stevenson - Read
Oct. 2: Sophia McCollum, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer - Read
Sept. 25: Jenna Middleton, Kingsley volleyball - Read
Sept. 18: Caden Livermore, Grandville cross country - Read
(Photos courtesy of Levi Lengemann.)