Official Rules and Overview of Unified Team Tennis Program
Special Olympics Maryland Unified Team Tennis matches are governed by the rules
summarized in this document and by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) rules.
1. Team rosters consist of a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 10 players.
2. Students with all types of disabilities should be recruited to participate. Following are
guidelines when assembling a team.

If possible, 50% of the team members should have an intellectual disability or
related developmental disability (i.e. autism, traumatic brain injury, severe
learning disability, or an identified cognitive delay) as either a primary or
secondary disability.

To create a fulfilling inclusion experience, a minimum of 25% of the team
members should not have any type of disability.
3. Unified Team Tennis Scoring: One point is awarded to a team for each victorious
doubles or singles match, which follows high school tennis scoring rules.
4. When possible, a doubles team should be comprised of one player with a disability and
one player without a disability. There are no substitutions allowed for a doubles team
during a match.
5. Utilizing the Unified Tennis Rating System (derived from the United States Tennis
Association (USTA) National Tennis Rating Program), all players will have their ability
level assessed and receive a rating score of 1 to 8. This is essential in determining
appropriately divisioned doubles and singles matches for competition.
6. When scheduling matches for a competition, doubles teams with similar rating scores
need to play each other and singles players with similar rating scores need to play each
other.
7. Doubles teams or singles players with a rating score of 1.0 – 2.5 will play their matches
on a short court and use a low compression ball. A short court uses just the service boxes
as boundary lines for a match.
8. A coach may activate between 6 to 10 players to compete in a Unified Team Tennis
competition.
9. Following are the competition formats to be used which are based on the number of
players on both teams. When one team has more players than the opposing team, these
additional players compete in an exhibition singles match. Example: Team A has 6
players and Team B has 8 players. Team B’s two additional players play a singles
exhibition match.

Each team has 6 players: Three doubles matches are played

Each team has 7 players: Three doubles matches and one singles match are
played

Each team has 8 players: Three doubles matches and two singles matches are
played

Each team has 9 players: Four doubles matches and one singles match are played

Each team has 10 players: Five doubles matches are played
Match Play Doubles and Singles Rules
1. The USTA short set format will be used.

A match consists of the best two out of three sets.

In a short set, the player/team that wins four games wins that set, provided there is
a winning margin of two games. If the set reaches 4-4, a 7 point tie-break game is
played. The first player/team to win seven points wins the tie-breaker, provided
the winning margin is two points.

If the match score is 1-1, a 7 point tie-break game is played to decide the match.
This tie-break game replaces the final set. The player/team that first wins seven
points wins this match tie-break and the match, provided the winning margin is
two points.
2. The No-Ad scoring system will be used. The first team or player to reach four points
wins the game. If the game is tied at 3-3, the seventh point becomes the “game point” for
each team or player.
Wheelchair Tennis Rules and Other Modifications
Following is a summary of the USTA wheelchair tennis rules:

The wheelchair player is allowed two bounces of the ball. The second bounce can
be in or out of the court boundaries.

The wheelchair is considered to be part of the body and all applicable rules which
apply to a player’s body apply to the wheelchair.

The server shall, throughout the delivery of a service, not touch with any wheel
any area other than that behind the baseline.

When a wheelchair tennis player is playing with or against a player who does not
use a wheelchair in singles or doubles, the rules for wheelchair tennis only apply
for the wheelchair player. For example, during play a wheelchair player is
allowed two bounces and the player not using a wheelchair is allowed one
bounce.
Additional modifications for players with visual impairments will be implemented when
necessary.