Beach tennis has no advantage. Ever.
On a scoresheet it looks like tennis, but it plays very differently: one serve, no lets, and the ball may not bounce. At 40-40 a single point decides the game, in every format, so there is nothing to agree on beforehand.
2 match formats, 5 draw formats, and at least 30 min of rest between two matches on the same day.
How scoring works.
Points go 15, 30, 40, and then one deciding point. A set is six games with a two-game lead, and at 6-6 a tie-break to seven decides it, in every set, so no set ever reaches eight games. The standard match is two sets and a ten-point super tie-break instead of a third set.
- 6-0
- 6-4
- 7-5
- 7-6
- 10-8
One deciding point at deuce, every time.
In tennis, the deciding point is an option. In beach tennis it is the rule, so every format uses it and you are never asked to choose. A score entered as if it was played with advantage is not accepted, and you are told why: beach tennis has no advantage, and 40-40 is always settled by one point. Some popular guides say otherwise about this and about how long a set is, but SetMatcher follows the ITF rules.
- 8-6
- 4-1
- 5-3
- 6-5
- 9-7
- 10-9
The match formats you can play.
Two: two sets and a ten-point super tie-break, which is standard, and the best of three full sets with a tie-break at 6-6 in each. There is no best of five, no short set and no Fast4. Doubles comes first, then mixed doubles, then singles, because the 16 by 8 metre court is made for doubles.
- Two sets and a super tie-break
- Best of 3 full sets
- Doubles
- Mixed doubles
- Singles
- Deciding point
Draws, rest times and ladders.
Five draw formats, including a second chance for first-round losers that the ITF calls a bonus draw. The ITF sets no rest time between matches in beach tennis, so SetMatcher uses the tennis rule as a sensible default: thirty minutes, or an hour and a half after a long match.
The other six sports.
Plenty of clubs play two or three of these. Each one has its own page.
- TennisEight formats, both sides of every tie-break, and a match won on sets.
- PadelThree deuce rules, best of three only, and the court side you play.
- PickleballTwo scoring systems, six formats, and a score called with three numbers.
- BadmintonA cap no other sport here has, and both BWF scoring systems.
- SquashNo sets, no cap, and up to three plate draws.
- Table tennisFour match lengths, from a league three to a nine-game team tie.
Your first match is one tap away.
Join a group, play, enter the score. The ladder, the draw and the season keep themselves up to date.