US Open Tennis 5th Set Tiebreaker Rules

A tiebreaker in tennis is a method or a system specifically designed to break a tie once the set score reaches 6-6. It can be either a first-to-7 or a first-to-10 tiebreak.

The format of the tiebreak can vary from one tournament to the other and is not fixed for all. A player can only win a tiebreak if they reach the required number of points by a clear margin of two points.

While a tiebreaker is being played, the points are counted as 1, 2, 3, and so on instead of the regular points scoring system. Tiebreakers have also gone on to become quite an exciting spectacle for fans as well.

Standard Tiebreakers

The first-to-7 points with a minimum lead of two points are commonly known as the standard tiebreakers. It is played whenever the set score is tied at six games apiece to determine the winner of the set.

If the game score of the set is tied at 6-6, the players head onto a tiebreaker. A player wins the tiebreaker once he reaches 7 points with a margin of two, meaning the score would be 7-5 for the winner.

If the tiebreaker also reaches a score of 6-6 or "six all", then the player has to win the following two consecutive points to win the set. A player can not win with a 7-6 score, and the set can only be won with a 8-6 score.

The same process keeps repeating until and unless a player has a minimum lead of two points. The score can go as long as it does not have a definite winner, like when Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Andy Roddick battled for the set that ended with a tiebreaker score of 20-18 in 2007.

In the standard tiebreak rule, the lowest score to win the decider could be as low as 7-0 and up to 7-5. It can go as high as it can until the two-point margin is achieved.

The standard tiebreak system is used during all tennis matches and in Grand Slams or major tournaments. The system or mechanism only changes a bit during the final set of the four Grand Slam events.

US Open tiebreaker rules tennis is a first to 10 points and win by two points in the final set of the Grand Slam. A player wins the set with a score of 10-8.

The US Open and all the other three major tennis tournaments have taken up the same tiebreak system that requires players to reach the required number of points with a lead of a minimum of two points.

The US Open tiebreaker fifth set rule was introduced in 2022 and applies to all other Grand Slams. The final set in all majors will have a 10-point tiebreak.

If the score is tied at 9-9 or "nine all," the same formula also applies to this. A minimum lead of two has to be achieved to win the tiebreaker. A 10-9 score would not suffice; it has to have an 11-9 score, or the process continues.

Similar to the US Open tennis 5th set tiebreaker for men, the same 10 points and win by 2 points applies to women in the final set, which is the third set.

The scoring rules in tennis for a game is as follows:

• 0 points - Love
• 1st point - 15
• 2nd point - 30
• 3rd point  - 40
• Tied score - All
• 40-40 score - Deuce
• Server winning the deuce point - Ad-In
• Receiver winning the deuce point - Ad-Out

Tennis scoring rules in case of a tiebreak is that a player who was due to serve will serve first and the next two points will be served by the opponent.

While scoring a match, the standard system that is followed by Grand Slams is a best-of-five sets format where a player needs to win at least three sets for men. In the case of the women's event, a best-of-three-sets format is followed with a minimum of two sets to be won.

During a game, if both the players are tied at 40-40 or "deuce", a player needs to win the next two points consecutively to win the particular game. If they win just one point after deuce and the opponent wins the other, it goes back to being deuce.

In the case of a tournament that does not have the tiebreaker rule, the set which is tied at 6-6 moves onto the Advantage Set. It is similar to the tiebreaker rule with the only difference being that the set will be decided if a player wins the next two games consecutively.

In simpler words, the player will only win the set if he has an advantage or margin of two games. The score required to win the set would be 8-6. If the score is 7-7 after heading into the advantage set, the winning score would have to be 9-7, and so on until a player wins by two sets.

At Wimbledon in 2010, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest tennis match and the final set had to be decided via the advantage set. The final score for the final set was as high as 70-68.

US Open qualifying rules for both men and women have a main draw of 128 players. The draw is decided by the rankings, qualifiers, and wild cards.

The main draw also referred to as pool or field, has a maximum limit of 128 players, and to qualify or make the main draw, there are several methods.

Rankings

The ATP or WTA rankings for men and women, respectively, play a vital role in qualifying for the US Open. A player must be ranked among the top 104 in the official rankings to qualify for the US Open on a direct method without playing the qualifier rounds.

Tennis players play tournaments yearly and accumulate points based on their performances. The points are higher in major tournaments or Grand Slams than in other ATP or WTA tournaments.

Qualifiers

The next best way to make it to the main draw is by playing the three qualifying rounds, and they need to win all three rounds. The pool for the qualifiers also consists of 128 players, and only 16 advance to the main draw.

The competition is very tough and players must be at their very best as they have to win three matches in a row with everyone eyeing the same spot.

The 16 qualifiers for the US Open 2023 are:

• Enzo Couacaud
• Taro Daniel
• Titouan Droguet
• Hugo Gaston
• Borna Gojo
• Hsu Yu-hsiou
• Felipe Meligeni Alves
• Jakub Menšík
• Nicolas Moreno de Alboran
• Emilio Nava
• Sho Shimabukuro
• Timofey Skatov
• Dominic Stricker
• Zachary Svajda
• Stefano Travaglia
• Otto Virtanen

Wild Cards

After 16 players are qualified for the main draw and 104 direct qualifications, a total of 120 have made it to the main draw. Only 8 players are left to complete the tournament field.

The next method to qualify for the US Open is to receive a wild card invite. The quota for wild card invites is 8, and they are usually local players, young players, or veterans who are given a chance at redemption.

The 8 players to receive a wild card invitation are:

• Benjamin Bonzi
• Rinky Hijikata
• John Isner
• Steve Johnson
• Alex Michelsen
• Michael Mmoh
• Ethan Quinn
• Learner Tien

Lucky Loser

These players lost in their qualifying rounds but made it to the main draw since they were the highest-ranked losers in the qualifying tournament. They get a much-needed second chance to showcase their talent and continue their journey.

The players who qualify as lucky losers replace the players from the main draw who withdraw themselves from the tournament due to injury or other reasons.

James Duckworth of Australia is the only lucky loser to make it to the tournament field of the US Open 2023 as he replaces Kei Nishikori, who is among the few players to withdraw from the Grand Slam.