Types of tennis match facts for kids

Tennis is a super fun sport usually played by two people (called a Singles match) or four people (called a Doubles match). But guess what? There are also cool ways to play with three players! Let's explore some of these exciting tennis variations.

Different Ways to Play Tennis

Singles Tennis

Singles tennis is when one player plays against another player. It's a one-on-one game! There are different competitions for men and women. This is different from doubles, where more players are involved.

Doubles Tennis

In doubles tennis, two players team up against another team of two players. So, there are four players on the court! It doesn't matter if the players are boys or girls. The court used for doubles matches is a bit wider than the one used for singles.

The Wimbledon mixed doubles champions of 1886

Mixed Doubles

Mixed doubles is a lot like regular doubles. The main difference is that each team must have one man and one woman playing together. It's a great way for everyone to play on the same team!

American Doubles

American doubles is often used for training. In this game, one player plays by themselves on a singles court. On the other side, two players team up and play on a doubles court. Sometimes, the players switch roles after each game.

Jordache Tennis

Jordache tennis is a special game played with three players. At any time, two of the three players are on the court playing a normal tennis game.

Here's how the scoring works:

• The player who wins a game gets 5 points.
• The player who loses gets points based on how close the game was:
  • 3 points if the score was "deuce" (tied at 40-40)
  • 2 points if they reached 30 points
  • 1 point if they reached 15 points

The winner of a game stays on the court. The player who replaces the loser gets to choose who serves next. The first player to reach 50 points wins the whole match! If a player starts a game with 49 points, they only need to win one more point to finish the game and the match.

Mini-Jordache

There's a faster version of Jordache tennis called "mini-Jordache," which was invented in 2005. In this version, the first player to reach 25 points wins.

Wheelchair Tennis

Wheelchair tennis is just like regular singles and doubles tennis, but with one important rule change. The ball is allowed to bounce twice before a player hits it. The second bounce can even happen outside the normal court lines! This makes the game more accessible for players in wheelchairs.

Australian Doubles

Australian doubles is played when one player is much better than the other two. In this game, the two players who are not as strong team up and hit the ball into the singles court area. The stronger player plays alone and hits the ball into the wider doubles court area.

Canadian Doubles

Canadian doubles is similar to Australian doubles. However, the single player doesn't have to be much better than the team of two. It's just another fun way to play with three people!