Contents
Standard scoring and the tie-break
- The game (Rule 5a): 0, 15, 30, 40, deuce, advantage.
- The set (Rule 6): 6 games with a 2-game margin, as an “Advantage Set” (no tie-break) or a “Tie-break Set” (tie-break at 6–6). The method used, including for the final set, must be announced in advance of the event.
- The match (Rule 7): best of 3 or best of 5 sets.
- The 7-point tie-break (Rule 5b): first to 7 with a 2-point margin. The player whose turn it is serves the first point, then each side serves two points in turn. Players change ends every 6 points. The first server of the tie-break receives in the first game of the next set.
- Change of ends (Rule 10): after games 1, 3, 5…; at the end of a set if its game total is odd, otherwise after the first game of the next set.
Appendix VI: the alternative formats
The 2026 text, method by method:
| Method | Rule | In doubles |
|---|---|---|
| No-Ad game (deciding point) | At deuce, one deciding point; the receiver(s) choose the right or left court | Receivers may not change positions; in mixed doubles the player of the same sex as the server receives |
| Short set | First to 4 games, 2 clear; tie-break at 4–4 (or 3–3, at the sanctioning body’s discretion) | No difference |
| Short-set tie-break (5 points) | First to 5, deciding point at 4–4; order of serves set by the sanctioning body; ends change after the first 4 points | No difference |
| Match tie-break (7 points) | Replaces the deciding set at one set all (or two sets all) | The order may be altered as at the start of a set |
| Match tie-break (10 points) | As above, to 10 with a 2-point margin (the FFT’s “super jeu décisif”) | As above |
| Final-set tie-break (10 points) | At 6–6 in the final set | No difference |
| Alternative change of ends in a tie-break | After the first point, then every 4 points | No difference |
| No-Let | A serve that touches the net, strap or band is in play | With short sets + No-Ad + No-Let, the sanctioning body may let either receiver play a let that lands in the correct box |
Before a match tie-break: the original order of service continues, a 120-second break is given as between sets, and the balls are not changed.
FFT formats 1 to 7
| Format | Sets | Deciding point | Final set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best of 3 sets to 6 games, tie-break at 6–6 | No | Full third set |
| 2 | 2 sets to 6 games | No | Match tie-break (10 points) |
| 3 | Sets to 4 games, tie-break at 4–4 | Yes | Match tie-break (10 points) |
| 4 | Sets to 6 games, tie-break at 6–6 | Yes | Match tie-break (10 points) |
| 5 | Sets to 3 games, tie-break at 2–2 | Yes | Match tie-break (10 points) |
| 6 | Sets to 4 games, tie-break at 3–3 | Yes | Match tie-break (10 points) |
| 7 | Sets to 5 games, tie-break at 4–4 | Yes | Match tie-break (10 points) |
This table comes from a secondary reproduction (TenMatch, 16 June 2026), not from the federation text: it still has to be checked against the FFT Règlements sportifs 2026 (sporting regulations), chapter on match formats. Two points are confirmed by a federation source: format 4 is the one used in the Ille-et-Vilaine committee’s Seniors+ team championship, and the Règlements sportifs limit players aged 11, 12, 13/14 and 15/16 to two matches per day in formats 1, 2 and 4 (document edition undated, to be verified).
Swiss Interclub and 10 and under
| Competition | Singles | Doubles |
|---|---|---|
| Junior Interclub 12&U to 18&U (JICR 2026) | 2 winning sets, tie-break at 6–6, third set played | Sets 1 and 2 No-Ad, then a 10-point Champions-Tiebreak |
| Kids Interclub 10&U | Champions-Tiebreak (10 points) instead of a third set | Same, with deciding point |
| Interclub Nationalliga B, adults (ICR NLB 2026) | 2 winning sets, tie-break at 6–6 | No-Ad + 10-point Champions-Tiebreak |
For 10 and under, ITF Appendix VIII allows, on top of every Appendix VI method, a single match tie-break, best of three tie-breaks or match tie-breaks, one short set or one regular set, as well as timed matches. Only the red, orange and green balls are permitted. The composition of team ties (number of singles and doubles rubbers) was not extracted, neither for Interclub nor for the FFT championships.
Club matches are best of three
The ITF Rules allow best of five sets, but no amateur competition read uses it: FFT formats 1 to 7 are all two-set or best-of-three structures, Swiss Interclub is played to two winning sets, and Tennis Canada’s national rules require best of three (short sets excepted). A club match is therefore prepared as best of three, most often with a match tie-break in place of the third set and, in doubles, the deciding point. The Swiss booklet’s “Every game at 30–40” game (titled “Best of five” in the booklet) is a training form, not a competition format.
Time, coaching, conduct
| Rule | Value (ITF 2026) |
|---|---|
| Between points | 25 seconds |
| Change of ends | 90 seconds; no rest after the first game of a set or during a tie-break |
| Set break | 120 seconds |
| Warm-up | 5 minutes |
| Medical time-out | One of 3 minutes, for a treatable medical condition; no extra time is given to recover condition |
| 10-minute rest | Optional, if announced in advance |
- Coaching (Rule 30 and Appendix IV): off-court coaching only where the sanctioning body permits it; on court, only a team captain in team events; never during a point. In the Swiss Nationalliga B (art. 13), one coach per player or pair may advise from inside the court at a change of ends at the end of a game, not at a change of ends during a tie-break. The FFT, DTB and ÖTV coaching rules were not retrieved.
- The penalty ladder (Tennis Canada Code of Conduct, not the ITF text): warning, point penalty, game penalty, then the referee decides whether each further offence is a default; a game penalty during a match tie-break loses the match. Time violations follow a separate ladder: a warning, then the server loses a serve and the receiver loses a point.
- Without an umpire: in the United States, USTA League requires “The Code” in unofficiated matches, and one section (Colorado, junior team tennis) switches the Point Penalty System off in the regular season. So never assume the ladder applies in a club match. The equivalent FFT, Swiss Tennis, DTB and ÖTV rules were not retrieved.
Frequently asked questions
Super jeu décisif, Champions-Tiebreak, match tie-break: are they the same?
What about German Medenspiele?
Does No-Let apply in club play?
Sources
ITF, Rules of Tennis 2026 (Rules 5 to 7, 10, 14, 15, 29, 30; Appendices IV, VI and VIII), reproduced with the national notes and the Tennis Canada Code of Conduct in “Rules of the Court 2026” (Tennis Canada, 2026; the English version prevails). TenMatch, “Formats de match FFT : les formats 1 à 7” (16 June 2026; non-federation reproduction of the FFT Règlements sportifs 2026). FFT, Règlements sportifs (sporting regulations, dirigeants’ guide; undated edition, art. 13). FFT Ille-et-Vilaine committee, Seniors+ team championship (current season). Swiss Tennis, Junioren Interclub page (junior Interclub) and Junioren-Interclubreglement (junior Interclub regulations, JICR) 2026; Interclubreglement Nationalliga B (ICR NLB) 2026, art. 13. USTA League National Regulations 2026 (17 December 2025), reg. 1.02; USTA Colorado, Junior Team Tennis regulations 2026, 9.08A. OFSPO / J+S Tennis, practice booklet no. 55 “Tennis – Double” (2009), p. 13. Paak tennis corpus, file 01 (rules and governance), checked in September 2026.