Learning First Hand How To Play A Nine-Point Tiebreaker, The Original Tiebreaker

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Have you played a nine-point tiebreaker before?

If you haven’t, this is how you do it. Me and my Saturday tennis game at The Boulevard tennis club in Vero Beach, Florida had on the job training with it.

We had less than 10 minutes left in our two-hour court reservation – and we were having so much fun competing – that I threw out that we play a quick nine-point tiebreaker. This is the sudden-death original version of the tiebreaker, invented by Jimmy Van Alen. And please note, it is called a “tiebreaker” and not a tie-break, as Van Alen, the inventor, named it and tennis historian Bud Collins wanted all in tennis to know, as you can read here: https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/22181 This original version of the tiebreaker was first used in pro tennis when it was introduced to Grand Slams and other tour events in 1970. It is only nine points, the first to win five points wins. If it gets to 4-4, the next point is sudden death. It was eventually changed to the seven-point version – and to win by two – which was seen as more fair.

As we prepared to play, we debated, “Does the server start serving in the deuce or ad side?” We also asked out loud if the first server serves one serve or two serves? The now seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven, win by two) features the opening server serving only one serve and to the deuce side. Then each subsequent server starting to serve their two points starting from the ad side.

For the nine-point tiebreaker, the first server starts serving to the deuce court and serves two serves, the second serve to the ad court. The next server then serves two points, starting in the deuce court, then the server after that serves again starting to the deuce court. Then, for the final three points, if necessary, the final server serves THREE serves, starting in the deuce court. If it reaches 4-4 – a sudden-death winner-take-all point – the third and final serve point has the receiving team choosing which side to receive from.

After we played four points, we debated whether we should switch sides or not. We did switch sides, but I subsequently found out that you don’t switch sides in a nine-point tiebreaker (although, I would argue perhaps you should.)

My partner and I closed out the win in the nine-point tiebreaker 5-2 and we continued to question if we actually played the tiebreaker correctly. As I walked to my tennis bag sitting on the side of the court I looked at my phone and saw a text message from Cliff Richey, whose books “Acing Depression” and “Your Playbook for Beating Depression” I published via New Chapter Media. (buy or download the book here https://a.co/d/fhHP4H3)

It immediately occurred to me that Richey would be one who I could immediately get the nine-point tiebreaker rules since he played pro tennis in the era where it was used….and he played perhaps the most famous one of all time!

After I sent the text, Richey then called me to explain. He did confirm the serving side order. He did not know if you switch sides after four points, however a later google search found that you do not switch sides, but rather the entire tiebreaker is played on one side. (Don’t you think this should change though, switching after four points?)

Richey reminded me that he recently discovered that his famous tiebreaker against Stan Smith was actually played incorrectly as he was told when he was reunited with the chair umpire for that match, Tommy Tucker, who went to become a tennis-teaching legend in Palm Springs, California.

Tucker told Richey years later that before the start of the fifth-set tiebreaker with Smith, Tucker had the two players flip a coin to determine who would start the tiebreaker, when in fact it should be continued in the serving order (ie whoever received the 12^th and final serving game of the set would start the tiebreaker serving). Smith served first in the famous tiebreaker meaning Richey served the final three points, which he won with hitting a second-serve that he described in colorful language in his “Acing Depression” book and eventually hitting a forehand volley winner.

Richey didn’t remember if they switched sides but he did say that Smith chose to receive the sudden-death point from the backhand side. It did happen 54 years earlier so memories can be a little fuzzy – and this was really the first year where a tiebreaker was used so there certainly was some confusion on how implement a tiebreaker. At least now, with a more-recent nine-point tiebreaker in my memory, I will know how to play it.