Rules for Tennis Triples

Tennis triples, a unique tennis game, is an alternative to playing singles or doubles. Many of the rules are the same as in singles or doubles with a few minor changes. There are six players, compared to two or four, making it a very social game. Playing triples may be a little confusing at first and a little crowded. After a few games, however, you will soon learn the subtleties and quickly master the game.

  1. How to Start

    • At the start of each tennis triples game the only player allowed to stand inside the baseline is the person receiving the serve. The serving team and the receiver's partners must stand behind the baseline at the start of each point and until the serve is hit. A foot fault can result and a loss of point will happen if any player steps on or inside the baseline except for the receiver.

    Serving

    • The rule for serving is similar to tennis doubles. Each player will serve an entire game. Each team will maintain a service order among players until the end of a set. At the end of the set, the order of service among players on a team can change but will remain until the set is over.

    Receiving

    • On the receiving team, one player must return the serve from the deuce court for the entire game. Another player must return the serve from the ad court for the entire game. The third player stands between these players at the start of each point. Any or all player positions can be changed at the start of a new game. Once a game has started, the deuce and ad court positions must be maintained for the entire game.

    Tiebreak

    • A 13-point tiebreaker will be played if the game score becomes 6 to 6. The teams will switch ends of the court after every six points of play. The team that gets to seven points first will win the tiebreaker and the set. At the start of the tiebreaker, the teams can change their positions but must maintain these positions throughout the tiebreaker. The order of service continues among the players on each team with each player serving two points each. The first point of the tiebreaker will be served to the deuce court, second point to the ad court, etc. If the score in the tiebreaker becomes 6 to 6, the player that served the 12th point will serve the last point. However, the receiving team can elect to receive the serve in the deuce court or the ad court.

    Strategies

    • At the start of each point, the serving team has the option to have all three players stay at the baseline, have the server move in to the net, send one non-serving player to the net, or send the two non-serving players to the net. The receiving team has similar options. However, it is better for all three receiving team players to stay back until they get the chance to move to the net. Triples tennis players will quickly learn the value of lobbing and playing in their own lanes on the court.