How To Play A Tie Break In Tennis

With the coming of Wimbledon, and the nature of the grass court game produces lots of tie breaks, thought some of you out there would like to know how to play one- so here goes.

Invented by Van Alen in 1965, and introduced to the US Open in 1970, the tie-breaker has helped to reduce what had sometimes resulted in monumental and lengthy tennis game struggles between top players that could take days to finish.

 A tennis tie-breaker is an intense, and often used, game in a set. It is used when the players are tied at 6-6 in a set, to determine the winner of the set. Whether you’re learning to play tennis, or you’re a spectator, it is important to understand the rules behind this exciting part of the game.

Understand when a tie-breaker game will take place.

A “set” is a series of games in tennis and a player must win six games to win the set.

A tie-breaker is played when each player has reached six games each. It is used to determine the winner of that set. If both players have 5 games all, two consecutive games are needed to win the set. Where it is six games all, a tie-breaker is needed to decide the set.

A tie-breaker might need to be used in all sets throughout the entire match if the players are in peak form. In this instance, it is likely that the match is very exciting for spectators and can be both tiring and mentally trying for the players. A lot of double faults will occur as the mind games accompany the real play!

Learn the scoring for a tie-break game.

The points in a tie-breaker as scored: zero, one, two, three, etc. This is a change from the usual scoring of 15, 30, 40, etc.The first player to win seven points, provided that there is a margin of two points over their opponent, wins the game and set.

Play a tie-break game.

The player whose turn it is to serve (who was receiving the serve in the prior game) will serve the first point of the tie-breaker from the deuce (right) court side. The first point is only a single serve. The next player and all following players (if doubles) will serve from the ad (left) court on the first serve and the deuce court on the second serve.

 

If playing doubles, continue the ordinary service rotation as in a regular doubles game.

Once the initial serve has been served, the opponent serves the next two points, and all remaining serves are rotated, two points each time, until the end of the game.

Players change ends after every six game points (e.g. 4-2), or any multiple of six points. If the set score is 7–6 (e.g., seven games to six games), players change ends because the tie-break counts as one game. Unlike after other changes of end during the match, a change of end during a tie-breaker does not allow for any break – play must be continuous unless there is an injury.

The first player to reach seven points wins the tie-breaker, provided the win is made by 2 points. For example, a 7–6 does not win the game, whereas an 8–6 does. Regardless of how many points are needed, however, the winner of the tie-breaker will be recorded as having won the set 7–6.

So that is it – now to practice this, why not either

a) if you play singles, then play some tie break sets instead of the normal sets.

b) you could also do the same in your doubles, or, if you finish a set with 10 minutes to spare, then play a tie break.