Doubles tennis rules: serving order, receiving and positions
TenisRaketi Editör Ekibi · Updated October 2026
Short answer
In doubles each team decides at the start of a set who serves first; the serve then rotates between teams and between partners. On the receiving team the players take turns, point by point. The alley is in during rallies and out on the serve. Players may stand anywhere on their side; both partners may not hit the ball.
In this guide
- How is the serving order decided in doubles?
- Who receives the serve in doubles?
- Where can each player stand in doubles?
- When is the alley in during doubles?
- What if both partners hit the ball?
- If the serve hits a partner or the net player touches the net
- Can one player play alone?
- If the order gets mixed up in doubles
- Who receives the deciding point in no-ad?
Doubles is played under the same ITF rules as singles; the differences are in the serving and receiving order, the width of the court and where partners stand. The basics are in the tennis rules guide.
How is the serving order decided in doubles?
The team serving the first game of a set decides which of its players serves that game. Before the second game, the other team makes the same choice. In the third game the partner of the first game's server serves, and in the fourth game the partner of the second game's server. The order holds to the end of the set:
Game | Server |
|---|---|
1 | Team A, player 1 |
2 | Team B, player 1 |
3 | Team A, player 2 |
4 | Team B, player 2 |
5 | Team A, player 1 again |
Teams may change the order only at the start of a new set.
ITF Rule 14.
Who receives the serve in doubles?
The team receiving in the first game of a set decides which player receives the first point of the game; the other team makes the same choice before the second game. The partner who did not receive the first point receives the second, and the rotation carries on through the game and the set. That is why players usually receive from the same half (right or left) for the whole set.
Once the serve has been returned, either player may hit the ball; there is no order.
ITF Rule 15.
Where can each player stand in doubles?
The server's partner and the receiver's partner may stand anywhere on their own side, inside or outside the court. Deliberately hindering the opponents is not allowed; then the hindrance rule applies and the hindered team may be given the point.
Unlike in singles, the server may serve from behind the part of the baseline between the singles and doubles sidelines (the 2026 edition spells this out).
ITF Rule 26, Case 5; Rule 18, Case 1.
When is the alley in during doubles?
In a rally the alley is in: a doubles court is 10.97 m wide. On the serve the alley is out; the serve must land in the diagonal service box between the singles sidelines. The measurements are in the court guide.
ITF Rule 1; Rule 17.
What if both partners hit the ball?
You lose the point. In doubles, if both players touch the ball when returning it, the team loses the point, even if the rackets touch it at the same moment. If one hits it and the other only reaches for it without touching, there is no problem.
ITF Rule 24 (l).
If the serve hits a partner or the net player touches the net
- The serve hits the server's partner: it is a fault.
- The serve hits the receiver's partner before it bounces: the point is the server's, unless it is a let.
- The receiver's partner touches the net before the serve lands: the receiving team loses the point even if the serve then lands out; the ball was still in play.
ITF Rule 19 (d); Rule 24 (i), Cases 3 and 7.
Can one player play alone?
No. In doubles one player of a team may not play alone against the opponents. If one player cannot go on, the team cannot carry on the match.
ITF Rule 15, Case 1.
If the order gets mixed up in doubles
- Partners served out of turn: corrected as soon as it is found; a fault served before it was found stands. If a game has been completed, the new order stays.
- Wrong receiving order: it stays as it is until the end of the game in which it is found; the team goes back to its original order the next time it receives.
ITF Rule 27 (c) and (e).
Who receives the deciding point in no-ad?
In no-ad scoring a single deciding point is played at 40-40. The receiving team chooses whether to receive from the right or the left half; the players may not swap, so whoever stands in that half receives. In mixed doubles the player of the same gender as the server receives the deciding point.
ITF Appendix VI.
Watching on TV: At ATP and WTA events, doubles matches are two tie-break sets with no-ad games; at one set all, a 10-point match tie-break replaces the third set. Source: ATP Rulebook 2026, Section I.B; WTA Rulebook 2026. (October 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Who serves in doubles?
Each team decides at the start of a set who serves first. The serve then rotates game by game between teams and between partners: A1, B1, A2, B2.
Is the alley in during doubles?
In rallies yes, on the serve no. The serve must land in the diagonal service box, which does not include the alley.
What happens if both doubles partners hit the ball?
If both touch the ball, the team loses the point.
Does the same player always receive in doubles?
No. Players take turns point by point; at the start of a set the team picks who receives the first point, and the order holds for the set.
More guides on this topic
- Tennis rules: the basics for beginnersPoints in tennis go 15, 30, 40; you win a game with four points and a two-point lead, and a set with six games and a two-game lead, with a tie-break at 6-6. You serve from behind the baseline into the diagonal box and you get two serves. A ball that touches the line is in.
- Whose point? The most confused tennis rulesA ball that touches the line is in. You lose the point if you catch a ball going out, if the serve hits you before it bounces or if you volley the serve. Your racket may cross the net but not touch it. A ball that goes around the net post is good.
- How tennis scoring works: 15-30-40, advantage, sets and tie-breaksPoints in a game go 0, 15, 30, 40 and the fourth point wins it; after 40-40 you need two points in a row. The first to six games with a lead of two wins the set, with a tie-break at 6-6. In a tie-break the first to seven with a lead of two wins, and the serve changes every two points after the first.
- Tennis serve rules: sides, two serves, lets and foot faultsEvery game starts with a serve from the right half, from behind the baseline into the diagonal box; you switch halves after each point. You get two serves, and two faults make a double fault. A let does not cancel an earlier fault. Tossing and not hitting is not a fault; swinging and missing is.
- Tennis court dimensions and lines: singles, doubles and the service boxA tennis court is 23.77 m long; 8.23 m wide for singles and 10.97 m for doubles. The service line is 6.40 m from the net, and the net is 0.914 m high in the centre and 1.07 m at the posts. In singles the 1.37 m alley along each side is out.
- Tennis ball types: the ITF ball types and court paceThe ITF approves three ball types: Type 1, a fast ball for slow courts; Type 2, a medium ball for most courts; and Type 3, a bigger, slower ball for fast courts. All weigh 56–59.4 g; Type 3 is 7.00–7.30 cm across, the others 6.54–6.86 cm. Juniors have red, orange and green balls.
- Racket and string rules: what does the ITF allow?A racket may be up to 73.7 cm (29 in) long and 31.7 cm wide, with a string bed up to 39.4 × 29.2 cm. A vibration dampener may only sit outside the crossed strings. If a string breaks you may keep playing with that racket unless the event forbids it; one racket at a time, and no batteries.
- Time, breaks, coaching and officials in a tennis matchThe warm-up is up to 5 minutes. Up to 25 seconds are allowed between points, 90 seconds at a change of ends and 120 seconds between sets. There is no extra time to recover condition; a 3-minute medical time-out may be allowed for a treatable condition. Coaching is never allowed during a point. The chair umpire decides questions of fact, the referee questions of law.
- The match on TV: what is different at the ATP, WTA and Grand SlamsThe ATP, the WTA and the Grand Slams play by the ITF Rules of Tennis and add their own regulations. The differences you see on TV: an electronic system instead of line judges at the ATP and WTA, penalties for time violations, coaching from the coaches' box, a 10-point final-set tie-break at the Grand Slams and no-ad games in doubles.