It’s 6–6 in the second set. Your kid and the other kid walk to the net, and both families suddenly have very different opinions about what happens next. Who serves first? When do they switch sides? Is it first to 7 or first to 10? Somebody’s dad is very confident and very wrong, and now there’s a standoff.
This page ends that forever. Tiebreaks are just a procedure — a recipe. Learn the recipe once, and you’ll never get out-voted by the other family on procedure again. (You’ll still get out-cheered, probably. That’s fine.)
The 7-Point Set Tiebreak: What Happens at 6–6
When a set reaches 6 games all, you don’t play a 13th game. You play a tiebreak — first to 7 points, and you must win by 2. So 7–5 wins it, but 7–6 doesn’t — play continues until someone leads by two (8–6, 9–7, 14–12, whatever it takes). The winner takes the set 7–6.
The serve order is the part everyone messes up, so go slowly:
- The player whose turn it is to serve serves ONE point — from the deuce (right) side.
- Then the other player serves TWO points — starting from the ad (left) side.
- Then back to the first player for TWO points — starting from the ad side.
- Alternate two serves each until the tiebreak is over. Every two-serve turn starts from the ad side.
Think of it as 1–2–2–2–2… — one serve, then pairs. That’s the whole pattern. If you remember nothing else, remember that.
Side switches (the regular way): players change ends every 6 points (after 6, 12, 18…). But — and this is the big but — many junior events use the Coman procedure instead. More on that below, because it’s the one that causes arguments.
The 10-Point Match Tiebreak: Instead of a Third Set
Most junior tournaments don’t play a full third set. When players split sets, they play a 10-point match tiebreak — first to 10 points, win by 2 — instead of a third set. You’ll also hear it called a “super tiebreak” or “match tiebreak.” Same thing.
The procedure is identical to the 7-point tiebreak — same 1–2–2–2 serve pattern, same side-switch rules — except the target is 10 instead of 7. That’s the only difference. (One nuance: because the 10-pointer counts as a “new set,” players are allowed to reset their serving order — either player on a doubles team may serve first, for example. In singles it just continues the rotation.)
Why juniors do this: a full third set after two hard sets can push a kids’ match past two hours. The 10-pointer keeps tournaments on schedule and keeps young bodies healthy. When your kid wins one, the match score is recorded as something like 4–6, 6–3, 10–7.
Coman: The Side-Switch Pattern That Causes All the Arguments
Named after a California teaching pro, the Coman tiebreak procedure changes only when players switch sides — everything else (serve order, scoring) stays the same. It’s used widely in junior and college tennis, and at the US Open, because it’s fairer: players switch ends more often, so sun, wind, and bad bounces get shared equally instead of one kid being stuck in them for six straight points.
The Coman pattern — memorize this:
- Switch sides after the 1st point, then every 4 points after that: after points 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21… and at the end of the tiebreak.
- Serve order is unchanged: 1 serve, then 2–2–2–2, always starting each pair from the ad side.
- In doubles, this means a player always serves from the same end they served from all set — no more serving into the sun you never faced during the set.
How to tell which one you’re playing: ask the tournament desk before the match, or check the tournament’s fact sheet. If nobody knows (it happens), the regular every-6-points switch is the default — but in practice, if both families agree to Coman, play Coman. The serve order never changes either way, so you can’t break the tiebreak by picking the “wrong” switch pattern as long as both sides do the same thing.
Who Serves First After the Tiebreak? (The Follow-Up Question Nobody Asks Until They Need It)
The tiebreak counts as one game. So a 7-point tiebreak makes the set score 7–6 — that’s 13 games, an odd number, which means players switch sides to start the next set. And the player who received the first point of the tiebreak serves first in the new set. (Easy way to remember: the tiebreak’s first server becomes the new set’s first receiver.)
For a 10-point match tiebreak, the match is over — but record the score correctly: the match tiebreak score goes in the third-set slot (e.g., 6–4, 3–6, 10–8).
The Tennis-Bag Cheat Sheet (Print This)
Cut this out, fold it up, keep it in the bag. Laminate it if you’re fancy.
TIEBREAK CHEAT SHEET
====================
7-POINT (at 6-6): first to 7, win by 2. Set ends 7-6.
10-POINT (3rd set): first to 10, win by 2. Same procedure.
SERVE ORDER (both types):
Server A: 1 point (deuce side)
Server B: 2 points (start ad side)
Server A: 2 points (start ad side)
... alternate 2 each. Pattern: 1-2-2-2-2...
SIDE SWITCHES:
Regular: every 6 points (6, 12, 18...)
Coman: after 1, then every 4 (1, 5, 9, 13, 17...)
AFTER A 7-POINT TIEBREAK:
Set score = 7-6. Switch sides (13 games = odd).
The tiebreak's first RECEIVER serves first in the new set.
SCORE IT: 7-6(4) means the tiebreak was 7-4.
Arguments Settled: The Quick-Reference
- “It’s first to 7, right?” — For a set tiebreak, yes, win by 2. For the third-set match tiebreak, it’s first to 10, win by 2.
- “We switch every 6 points!” — Only in the regular procedure. If the event uses Coman, it’s after point 1, then every 4.
- “My kid served first in the tiebreak, so they serve first in the next set!” — Nope. The tiebreak’s first receiver serves first in the next set.
- “The score was 7-6, 7-6 — who won the tiebreaks?” — Written 7–6(4), 7–6(5): the number in parentheses is the loser’s tiebreak points. So 7–6(4) means the tiebreak was 7–4.
- “Do we switch sides before starting the 10-pointer?” — If the set just finished had an odd number of games, yes; even, no. (Same rule as between any two sets.) Then Coman or regular switches apply once it starts.
Practice It at Home in 10 Minutes
Tiebreak procedure is pure muscle memory — drill it once and it sticks. Next time you’re hitting with your kid, play a 7-point tiebreak to finish the session. Call out the serve pattern as you go: “one serve… now two… now two.” Switch sides at 6 (or play Coman: switch after 1, then every 4). Do it three times and your kid will know the procedure better than half the adults at the tournament. The goal: when a real tiebreak starts, your kid’s brain is free to compete instead of doing arithmetic.
The Be-the-Wall Takeaway
Know the procedure cold, so your kid never has to argue about it. The whole point of learning tiebreak rules isn’t to win debates with other parents — it’s so that when the moment comes, you can calmly say “here’s how it works” and your kid can get back to competing instead of standing at the net in a rules dispute. Print the cheat sheet, stick it in the bag, and be the calmest person at the fence. That’s what the Wall does: no drama, no disputes — just the next point.
Want a second set of eyes on the strokes your kid is using in those tiebreaks? The Virtual Coach reviews a 25-second clip and returns three personalized tips — free.
