How the tennis tiebreak works

When it is played

A tiebreak is played when a set reaches 6-6, six games all. In the most common formats it applies to every set; in some tournaments the deciding set used to go on until one player led by two games, but since 2022 the four Grand Slam tournaments also close the deciding set with a 10-point tiebreak at 6-6.

In club matches and local tournaments the tiebreak at 6-6 is the rule almost everywhere. Agreeing on it before the match avoids the argument right at 6-6.

How the points are counted

In a tiebreak points are counted one by one: 1, 2, 3 and so on, no 15, 30 and 40. The first player to reach 7 points with a lead of at least two wins: 7-5 closes it, 7-6 doesn't. At 6-6 play goes on until someone leads by two: 8-6, 9-7, 12-10. There is no limit.

Whoever wins the tiebreak wins the set 7-6. The loser's points are written in brackets in the result: 7-6(5) means the tiebreak ended 7-5.

Who serves, and from which side

The player who was due to serve the next game serves first, for one point only, from the right side. Then the serve alternates every two points: the other player serves the second and third point, the first serves the fourth and fifth, and so on. Each pair of serves starts from the left side.

• Point 1: player A, from the right.
• Points 2 and 3: player B, from the left and then from the right.
• Points 4 and 5: player A, from the left and then from the right.
• The game that opens the next set is served by the player who received the first point of the tiebreak.

When you change ends

You change ends every six points: when the points add up to 6, 12, 18, so at 3-3 or 4-2, at 6-6 or 8-4, at 9-9. After the tiebreak you change ends once more: the games of the set add up to an odd number (7-6), and the next set starts as usual, with a change after the first game.

The 10-point super tiebreak

The super tiebreak, or match tiebreak, replaces the deciding set: at one set all, instead of a third set you play a long tiebreak. It is won at 10 points with a two-point lead, with the same serving and change-of-ends rules as a normal tiebreak. In the result it counts as a set won 1-0 and is written with its points in square brackets: 6-4 3-6 [10-7].

It is the doubles format on the professional tours and in a great many amateur tournaments, because it shortens matches. In padel the third set is usually played in full, but many tournaments use the super tiebreak to keep the court schedule.

The most common mistakes

• Changing ends at 3-3 and never again: you change every six points, so at 6-6 and 9-9 too.
• Getting the serving order wrong after the first point: from the second point on, each player always serves two points.
• Closing at 7-6: a two-point lead is needed, the tiebreak goes on.
• Letting the last server serve the next game: it is the turn of whoever received the first point of the tiebreak.
• Writing 1-0 and nothing else for a super tiebreak: the points belong in the result too, for example [10-8].

How TennisScore does it

At 6-6 TennisScore opens the tiebreak by itself, counts 1, 2, 3, shows who serves and from which side, warns when it's time to change ends and closes the set with the score in brackets. The super tiebreak in the deciding set is a match setting: switched on, at one set all you play to 10 points and the result shows it in square brackets. The point that closes the tiebreak of the deciding set is a match point: the app asks for confirmation before ending the match, on the phone and on the watch.