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Traditionally, tennis is played between two people in a singles match, or two pairs in a doubles match. However, there are other forms of the sport played informally, which may have different rules or allow play between different numbers of players.

Contents 1 Standard types of match 2 Other types of match 2.1 Australian doubles 2.2 Canadian doubles 2.3 Jordache tennis 2.4 Wheelchair tennis 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Standard types of match

Singles involves two players competing against each other, usually two men or two women, although games between a man and a woman may be played on an informal basis.

Doubles is played by two teams of two players each, most often all-male or all-female. It utilizes a wider court than singles matches: it includes the area in the alley (tramlines, in British terminology), whereas singles does not. The two players on the receiving side change positions after each point played (one at the net and the other near the baseline, preparing to return serve).

Mixed doubles is played the same as doubles, but with each team comprising one man and one woman. This form of tennis is rare in the professional game, due to the men's and women's tours being organised separately (by the ATP and WTA respectively). However, all four Grand Slam tournaments hold a mixed doubles competition, alongside the men's and women's doubles, and featuring many of the same players. There is also an annual mixed tournament for national teams, the Hopman Cup, which includes mixed doubles.

[edit] Other types of match

[edit] Australian doubles

Another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the "Kiwi" style^{[clarification needed]}, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve, and the doubles team each taking one if they break. Also, the starting position before the service is different. The two members on the serving team stand on the same side of the court (the volleyer stands on the side that the server is on). After serving, the server moves over to the other side. This tactic is to counter opposing teams with excellent cross-court returns

[edit] Canadian doubles

Similar to Australian doubles, however the single player does not have to be significantly better than the double team. The single player hits into a doubles court while the side with two players hits into a singles court.

[edit] Jordache tennis

A game played between three players. A normal tennis game takes place between two of the three contestants. Players are awarded 5 points for a game win and the loser is awarded points based on the score achieved: 3 for deuce, 2 for 30 and 1 for 15. The winner remains in. The player replacing the loser gets to choose who serves. The first to 50 wins. Scoring is calculated continuously, so if a player is currently on 49 points at the start of a game they only have to win one point for the game to end. There is a variation invented in 2005, called "mini-Jordache", where the winner is the first to 25.^[1]

[edit] Wheelchair tennis

Played in both singles and doubles forms by people in wheelchairs. The main difference is that the ball may bounce twice before it is hit, the second bounce may even be outside the court.

[edit] See also

• Tennis court
• Tennis games
• Doubles extensions
• Deck tennis
• Beach tennis

[edit] References