Common Questions & Answers

Here are a few common qustions we get about the term bye in tennis.

What does a bye mean in a tennis draw?

A bye refers to the automatic advancement of a seeded singles player or doubles team from one round to the next without having to compete against an opponent.

How do you get a bye in tennis?

Players receive a bye when they are a top seed in a tournament, and the draw size does not permit every player to have a first-round opponent. Seeded players are those with the highest rankings before the start of the competition.

What does bye stand for in tennis?

The term bye is not an acronym. Therefore, the letters of the word to not stand for anything. Instead, a bye refers to the automatic advancement of a seeded singles player or doubles team from one round to the next without having to compete.

What’s the difference between a bye and a walkover?

Tournaments award byes to top-seeded players in the first round. Any subsequent rounds where a player automatically advances to the next round is considered a walkover. Injured or sick players frequently are the cause of such a situation.