Tennis singles

Traditionally, tennis is played between two people in a singles match, or two pairs in a doubles match.

Singles involves two players competing against each other, usually two men or two women, although games between a man and a woman may be played on an informal basis or as exhibitions.

Doubles is played by two teams of two players each, most often all-male or all-female. It utilizes a wider court than singles matches: it includes the area in the alley (tramlines, in British terminology), whereas singles does not. The two players on the receiving side change positions after each point played (one at the net and the other near the baseline, preparing to return serve).

Mixed doubles is played the same as doubles, but with one man and one woman per team. This form of tennis is rare in the professional game because the men's and women's tours are organised separately (by the ATP and WTA, respectively). However, all four Grand Slam tournaments hold a mixed doubles competition, alongside the men's and women's doubles, and featuring many of the same players. There is also an annual mixed tournament for national teams, the Hopman Cup, which includes mixed doubles. Additionally, tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics included a mixed doubles event for the first time since tennis returned to the Olympic Games in 1988.

In professional tennis tournaments such as Wimbledon, the singles competition receives the most prize money and coverage, followed by doubles. Mixed doubles usually receive the lowest monetary awards. Also while players are gradually less competitive in singles by their late 20s and early 30s, they can still continue competitively in doubles, such as Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe, who won doubles titles in their 40s.

When three players are available, modified rules can accommodate the mismatch so that the single player does not have to be significantly better than the double team. The single player hits into a doubles court while the side with two players hits into a singles court.

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