Tennis Tiebreaker Rules

In order to win a set, tennis players must win six games and be ahead by two games when the set ends. To prevent sets from going on too long, however, if players are tied at six games each a tiebreak is played. This tiebreak is used in almost all major professional tennis tournaments. Wimbledon is the only major tennis tournament that does not use a tiebreak when players are tied at six games each in the final set. Instead, players continue to play games until one player is ahead by two games.

  1. Basic Rules

    • The tiebreak is known as a 12-point tiebreaker. The first player to reach seven points with a lead of at least two points is the winner of the tiebreak and the set. The player who would have served the next game had it not been a tiebreaker starts by serving the first point. The opponent then serves for two points and players continue to alternate serving every two points until a winner is determined. There is no limit on the number of points that can be played.
      In a traditional tiebreak, after every six points are played the players switch sides. Players do not get a rest during this changeover like they do when changing sides between games in a set. An alternate tiebreak gaining popularity is known as the Coman tiebreak; it has players switch sides after the first point and after every four points after that.
      Whichever player or team started serving in the tiebreak set starts by serving the first game in the next set, if applicable.

    Match Tiebreaks

    • The U.S.Tennis Association allows non-national tournaments to use a match tiebreak instead of having players play a deciding set. For example, if players were playing a best-of-three-sets match and were tied at one set each, they would play a match tiebreak instead of playing a third set. This tiebreak is won by the first player to win 10 points with a margin of at least two points. The serve alternates the same way as in a seven-point tiebreak, and the Coman tiebreak rules for changing ends are used.