Wimbledon 2025 fifth set tiebreak rules: How does the scoring system work?

The All England Club have introduced a number of changes to their fifth-set rules in recent years. A deciding set at Wimbledon used to be played out until one player won by two clear games, leading to matches like the infamous showdown between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2010, which lasted more than 11 hours and was spread over three days.

It eventually finished 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68 in favour of Isner, creating one of the most memorable scorelines of all time. But to make sure the scheduling stays on track and to protect player welfare, the deciding-set rules were changed in 2019.

Wimbledon fifth set tiebreak rules

Organisers initially introduced a tiebreak at 12-12 in the deciding set (the fifth set for men and the third set for women), but that was changed again in 2022. Now, players will contest a 10-point tiebreak once the score hits 6-6.

A 10-point tiebreak is an extension of the traditional seven-point tiebreak, which would be played at 6-6 in any of the earlier sets. Instead of the usual progression from 15 to 30 to 40 to game, tiebreaks use one-point increments.

One player begins by serving once, then the opposing player is given two serves and they alternate until the end of the tiebreak with two serves each.

The winner of the tiebreak is the first player to reach 10 points, as long as they are two points ahead of their opponent. If not, the tiebreak will continue beyond 10 points until one of the players leads by a two-point margin.

The current deciding-set tiebreak rules have been adopted by all four Grand Slam tournaments on the calendar.

Australian Open chief Craig Tiley, who oversaw the first Grand Slam when the new rules were in place, said: "We went with a 10-point tiebreak at six-all in the final set to ensure fans still get a special finale to these contests, with the longer tie-break allowing for that one final twist or change of momentum in the contest.

"This longer tie-break also can lessen some of the serving dominance that can prevail in the shorter tie-break. We believe this is the best possible outcome for both the players and the fans around the world."