The Island Games are held every two years and are organized by the International Island Games Association. This multi-sport event features participants from 24 member nations which consist of island countries of Europe and other small territories.
The Island Games first began in 1985. The first tennis event at the games were held in 1991. It has been held in each edition of the game since then except 2005. Till date, the sport is played in six competitive categories – men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles, and team events.
A tennis player or pair needs to win six games to win a set. Winning two such sets secures the match. However, if the game score is tied at 6-6, then a tiebreak needs to be played. This tiebreak ends when a player wins seven points with a difference of two. In doubles, if a third set is enforced, then the match is won by the pair who wins ten points with a lead of two points.
Each member island participating in tennis can bring five male and five female players. The minimum age of the participants is 14. In singles, for every member island, no more than four male and four female players can participate. Two doubles pairs of each male and female are allowed whereas four mixed doubles pairings can represent a member island.
As of 2024, Jersey has dominated the men’s event. This island nation has won 18 gold medals in the men’s events (singles, doubles, and event) from their total tally of 40 medals across these events. Gibraltar has the most gold medals in the women’s singles (7) and women’s team events (6). In mixed doubles, Isle of Man has won 10 medals in total, but Gibraltar leads the tally for most gold medals (3). In women’s doubles, Isle of Man and Aland are tied with four gold medals each.
