Rules of Doubles Tennis

Doubles tennis is just how it sounds, it is tennis played in teams of two. Doubles tennis is a lot of fun with the right partner and opponents. Many people play doubles because it is less grueling than singles because there is less court to cover. The rules of doubles change a little bit, but many of the rules for singles tennis apply. This article assumes a basic knowledge of tennis rules for singles and highlights the differences between the two.

Differences in the rules for doubles tennis

The big difference between singles and doubles tennis is that the court of doubles tennis is wider. The widest line on all sides are now in play. This opens up what is called the "alley." The alley is only in play after the ball is served, however. You still must serve into the singles box on each side. The server, however, can choose to serve from anywhere on their side of the baseline, including the alley. Besides the wider court, the service order is different. In singles tennis, you rotate by alternating between two players. Now, you rotate between four players. Once the service order is decided, each team must stick with it until the end of the game. In other words, if you have two teams: A and B vs. C and D, if A and B are serving first, A serves the first game. C then serves the second game. B serves the third game, and D serves the fourth game, and on and on until the game is over. Before the game, each team must choose who is on what side to receive the serve. Once this is decided, players must stick with that side until the game is over.

Doubles tennis is a lot of fun for many people. One of the benefits of doubles is you only have to learn a few more rules. This article highlighted the main rule changes so you can start playing doubles today.