Tennis·Individual Sports

NCAA

🏛️Official — NCAA

NCAA Tennis Rules of the Game· 2025-26 NCAA Tennis Rules Book (ITA dual-match format, NCAA Championships May, no-ad scoring at NCAA tournament)Open source

New to Tennis?

Start with our beginner-friendly guide — simplified rules and essential steps.

Beginner Guide

At a glanceEverything you need to set up a game

1–2 players

Players

Outdoor

Environment

racket, ball

Think the rules should be different?

Create your own version of Tennis with custom rules. Build community support and it could become officially recognized.

Create Your Version

Explore All Sports

Section 1: Introduction

NCAA Tennis is the collegiate variant of tennis played at NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions across both men's and women's brackets, in the spring semester. NCAA Tennis is unique in collegiate sport for its dual-match format combining individual singles + doubles into a team result. NCAA Tennis uses the ITF Rules of Tennis as the playing baseline with NCAA-specific modifications adopted by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA): no-ad scoring, condensed format, doubles-then-singles match order, and team-vs-team dual-match scoring. The NCAA Tennis Championship is contested in mid-May. The current edition is the 2025-26 NCAA Tennis Rules Book.

Section 2: Equipment

Racket: ITF-approved per Rules of Tennis Appendix II
Ball: ITF-approved (yellow felt-covered, 65-67 mm diameter, 56-59 g)
Court surface: hard court (most NCAA), clay, or indoor — must be ITF-approved
Player apparel: NCAA-approved per Equipment Standards
Hawk-Eye / Foxtenn / electronic line-calling at NCAA Championship venue

Section 3: Playing Area

Court: 23.77 m × 8.23 m singles / 23.77 m × 10.97 m doubles
Net: 0.914 m height at center, 1.07 m at posts
Service boxes: 6.4 m × 4.115 m each
NCAA dual-match venue: typically 6 courts side-by-side for singles, with adjacent stadium court for the deciding match

Section 4: Players & Officials

NCAA team: 6 singles players + 3 doubles teams per dual match
Lineup: 1-6 singles in order of ability; 3 doubles teams
Officials: 1 chair umpire per court (or 2-3 umpires per court at championship-level), line judges or electronic line-calling, tournament referee, dual-match referee
Players self-call lines on courts without umpires (NCAA D1 dual matches without championship-level officiating)

Section 5: Rules of Play

NCAA Dual-Match Format

3 doubles matches first (1 set to 6, 7-point tiebreaker at 6-6) — winning team gets 1 doubles point
6 singles matches (best of 3 sets, no-ad scoring, 7-point tiebreaker at 6-6 in sets 1-2; super tiebreaker at 1-1 in sets in some formats)
Total: 7 points possible per dual (1 doubles + 6 singles); first team to 4 points wins the dual

No-Ad Scoring

NCAA tennis uses no-ad scoring: at deuce, the receiver chooses which side to receive the next point; that point decides the game
Eliminates traditional ad-in/ad-out cycles

Tiebreaker

Set tied 6-6: 7-point tiebreaker (first to 7, win by 2)
Match tied 1-1 in sets (some NCAA formats): 10-point super tiebreaker decides match (first to 10, win by 2)

Section 6: Scoring

Game: first to 4 points (love, 15, 30, 40, game)
Set: first to 6 games, win by 2; tiebreaker at 6-6
Match (singles): best of 3 sets
Doubles match: 1 set to 6 + tiebreaker at 6-6
Dual match: first team to 4 of 7 possible points wins

Section 7: Violations & Penalties

Code violation framework: 1st = warning; 2nd = point penalty; 3rd = game penalty; subsequent = default
Common violations: ball abuse, racket abuse, audible obscenity, unsporting conduct, coaching during point
NCAA Sportsmanship Code applies; ejection + disciplinary review

Section 8: Safety Considerations

WBGT-based heat thresholds for outdoor play; mandatory water breaks at high WBGT. Lightning detection halts outdoor play. Court surface inspected pre-match. Concussion protocol: removal + graduated return-to-play assessment for any actual or suspected concussion (rare in tennis). Required: certified athletic trainer at every match; team physician + EMT at championship-level. AED + emergency action plan at every venue.

NCAA

About

Related Sports

Full Rulebook(10 sections)

Overview

How to win

The game

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: Equipment

Section 3: Playing Area

Section 4: Players & Officials

Section 5: Rules of Play

NCAA Dual-Match Format

No-Ad Scoring

Tiebreaker

Section 6: Scoring

Section 7: Violations & Penalties

Section 8: Safety Considerations

Playing the ball

Fouls & penalties

Equipment

Sports with a similar feel(6)

Version History(1)

Variations of Tennis(1)

More from NCAA(6)