Rule of the Week
Rule of the Week Question
I have two sons who are tennis fanatics. There always seems to be an argument
about the rules of the tiebreaker. Could someone out there give me the rules
of a tiebreaker?
Answer
Here are the rules for tie-breaker (for singles) in a nutshell. Except for
the first serve (where the server only serves once), every player takes
two consecutive serves until one player wins the tie-break and the set by
reaching a score of 7 points or better with a margin of two points (example,
7-5, 8-6, or 9-7).
The player (Player A) who began serving in the set serves first point of
the tie-break to the deuce court (the left service box of the court while
facing your opponent). Then Player B serves point 2 and 3 to the ad court
(right service box while facing your opponent). The sequence of 2 serves
each continues, each time the server begins by serving to the ad court.
Remember, players must switch sides of the court when the tie-break score
reaches six points (example, 5-1, 4-2, 3-3).
Following the completion of the tie-break (and therefore the set), the players
switch ends and Player B (the one who did not start serving in the first
set and the tie-break), begins serving in the next set.
In doubles, the same rules apply with the partners preserving their serving
order.
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