What are the tennis rules in the case of a tiebreaker?
Tiebreakers Q. Have the rules for playing a seven-point tiebreak changed recently? One of my regular tennis buddies says now the rule states the server serves from the side they were serving on during regular games of the set. This would require many ends changes, and I have a hard time believing the pros would want to do this. I am assuming he is referring to the Coman tiebreak procedure, but I cannot find that this is now the accepted way to handle tiebreaks. Can you advise? A. The rules for a 12-point tiebreaker remain the same. However, I believe that you are referring to the Coman Tiebreak, which has strong supporters. The Coman Tiebreak is no different than a regular tiebreaker, except that players switch ends after one point, and then every four points thereafter. This assures that a server in doubles will serve on the same side that he/she has been serving on for the whole set. It also eliminates a six-point swing (in singles or doubles) if the conditions favor a specific side
During the second set of a women’s 3.0 league doubles match, the two teams got to 6-6. When discussing what to do next, one member from Team X said, “We need to play a tie-breaker”, and one member from Team Y said, “No, we need to play another game.” The other two members on the court were silent. The member from Team X admits she’s not sure what to do, and feels that the member from Team Y seems to know what to do, and agrees to do what she says. So they play another game, which consists of multiple deuces and takes awhile. During the game, the other matches finish and a member from one of the teams begins watching the final game that is going on. Team Y wins the game, and the set. As both teams are leaving the court, the spectator asks what the final score was, and they reply, “6-4, 7-6”. The spectator says that doesn’t make any sense since they weren’t playing a tie-breaker. The captains of both teams are called over, and decide that the last game should not count, and they should p
