PLAYER SETUP

• 3 vs 3 (three from one team) or individual scoring (if less than six players)
• Champion Side – (three people (or two if scoring individually)). The pro feeds balls from Champion Side to the Challenger Side.
• Challenger Side (three or two people)
• Champion Side is where players win points *1
• Challenger Side is where the tennis pro is feeding the balls to. Players on the Challenger Side are trying to win in order to take the Champion Side.

THE OBJECT OF THE GAME

A team is trying to win three balls in a row, or hit a winner ^*2, in order to either win a point or to take the Champion Side. Whichever team has the most points at the end of the allotted time wins the match.

HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED

The four balls needed to win have different names.

• First ball: Rally ball. Whichever team wins this ball comes up to the net for the next ball
• If Champion Side wins the Rally ball then they come up to the net (at least inside their own service line). They will try to win three balls in a row, or hit a Winner, to win the point. If they do, they “reset” back to the baseline and begin again to attempt to win more points.
• If Challenger Side wins the Rally ball they must win three balls in a row or hit a winner in order to take Champion Side.
• The first ball for Challenger Side is called First Ball and must start at their service line. The pro feeds a volley^*3 and they can hit the ball anywhere to Champion Side and play out the ball. If they win that rally, Challenger Side can move closer to the net.
• Second Ball must be hit past the service line on Champion Side, from which they will play out the rally. If they win that then the next ball is an Overhead*4. If they win that rally then they take the Champion Side^*5, but not necessarily any points are won.
• If playing 3 vs 3, the winning team must rotate their players: deuce player to add, add player goes out, out player goes in on deuce side*6.
• If a player makes a mistake, they are replaced by the player waiting out.
• The Cliffhanger and Potential 3-Pointer is the third ball. If anyone hits a winner, whether the Challenger Side or Champion Side, weather at net or on the baseline, that team wins two points.
• The Potential 3-Pointer is called out at the very end of the 15 minute round. The pro feeds the ball to the Challenger Side. If the Challenger Side hits a winner, the round is over. If the rally continues, beginning with the Champion Side return, any winner hit by any player will score three points and end the round.

The time increments are 15 minutes. There is a 15 minute warm up and each round is 15 minutes. After each round is played the balls are picked up with a water break and scores are reported. Matches are usually 1 1/2 hours long but can be 1-2 hours, depending on what the players decide. The team with the most points at the end of the allotted time wins the match.

^*1 Except on two occasions – on the third point, called the “Cliffhanger” or on the last point of each round, called the “potential 3-pointer”.
^*2 A winner is a ball that bounces at least twice before it is “touched”. Making contact with the ball with one’s racquet or body prevents the other team from hitting a winner.
^*3 This should normally be a volley. Lower level or recreational level can let it bounce.
^*4 The overhead feed should be high but not go any farther back past the service line. 4.5 level and higher this rule does not apply and the ball can be fed to any part of the court.
^*5 The third ball is called the “Cliffhanger”. If anyone hits a winner, whether the Challenger side or Champion side, whether at net or on the baseline, that team wins two points.