Tennis Doubles Tournament Rules: Serving, Scoring and Match Procedures

How to Structure a Doubles Tournament

For a group of friends, the simplest and most common format is a single-elimination bracket, possibly with a consolation round so everyone gets at least two matches. You need an even number of teams; if necessary, use a first-round bye for some teams. A round-robin format works well for small groups (4–6 teams) to guarantee multiple matches, but it takes longer. For larger groups, single elimination with a third-place match is efficient.

Example: With 12 players (6 teams), a round-robin would require 15 matches (each team plays 5 matches) and could take two days. A single-elimination bracket has 5 matches total. Choose based on time and player expectations.

Building the Bracket

1. List all teams and seed them if desired (strongest teams spread out).
2. Draw names randomly or assign seeds to bracket positions.
3. For non-power-of-two entries (e.g., 5, 6, 7 teams), give byes in the first round to the highest-seeded teams or randomly.
4. Place winners in the next round slots, keeping the bracket visible (whiteboard or online tool).

Doubles Court Boundaries and Partner Positions

In doubles, the court includes the alleys (the strips between singles and doubles sidelines), so the full width is 36 feet (10.97 m). The service court is the same as singles: the server must land the ball diagonally into the opponent's service box, bounded by the net, the singles sideline, the service line, and the center service line.

Partners can stand anywhere on their side during play, but at the moment of serve, the server's partner may stand anywhere, while the receiver's partner may stand anywhere as well. Common formations: one up at net, one back (standard); both up (aggressive); both back (defensive). After the serve, players move to cover the court.

Serving and Receiving Order

At the start of a set, each team decides who serves first and who receives first. The serving order alternates between teams each game. Within a team, players alternate serving turns. The receiving team can choose which player receives in the deuce court and which in the ad court, but this must remain fixed for the entire set (they may change at the start of a new set or a match tie-break).

Example: Team A (players A1, A2) vs Team B (B1, B2). Game 1: A1 serves to B1 (deuce) and B2 (ad). Game 2: B1 serves to A1 and A2. Game 3: A2 serves, etc.

In a tie-break, the serving order is: first server serves one point from the deuce court; then each subsequent server serves two points, starting from the ad court, alternating courts. Teams switch sides every six points.

Scoring Formats and Match Length

Common scoring formats:

A tie-break is played to 7 points (win by 2) or to 10 points (win by 2) for a match tie-break. At 6-6 in a set, a 7-point tie-break decides it. In a pro set, the tie-break may be at a specific game score.

Change of Ends and Breaks

Players change ends after the first, third, and every subsequent odd-numbered game in a set. In a tie-break, change ends every six points. There is no rest break on changeovers, but a 90-second break is allowed between sets, and a 2-minute break between matches. Players may take a 10-minute break between matches if they have played more than 60 minutes.

Planning a Realistic Schedule

Estimate average match length based on scoring format and player level. Allow at least 15 minutes between matches on a court for warm-up and transitions.

Example for 8 teams, single elimination, best of 3 tie-break sets: 7 matches total. With 2 courts, schedule:

• Round 1: 4 matches, start at 9:00 and 10:30 on each court (assuming 1.5 hr each).
• Semifinals: 2 matches at 12:00 and 12:00 (on two courts).
• Final: 2:00 PM.

Communicate the schedule and bracket to all participants, and post results after each round.