How are ties broken in wushu taolu?
A · Advanced · Results and disputes · 3 of 6The highest final score wins. If two athletes are level in an event with a degree of difficulty, the one with the higher difficulty score ranks higher. Next comes who completed the higher-grade difficulty, then the higher overall performance score. If they are still level, they share the place.
How it works
- Single events: ranked by final score, highest first.
- Tie, events with difficulty: the higher difficulty score.
- Then: who successfully completed the higher-grade difficulty, counting techniques and connections.
- Then: who completed more of the higher-grade difficulties.
- Then: the higher overall performance score.
- Then: the higher of the two athletes' lowest discarded performance marks.
- Still level: the tie stands.
- With preliminaries: if the final is tied, the higher preliminary ranking goes ahead.
- Tie, events without difficulty: starts from the overall performance score.
- All-around: combined scores across an athlete's events. Ties go to whoever has more first places, then second places.
The glossary has the taolu ties, the all-around, the degree of difficulty, the overall performance, the preliminaries and final and the judge groups.
Tricky cases
Two athletes both score 9.650, one with 2.0 for difficulty and one with 1.9. Who wins?
The athlete with 2.0. The higher difficulty score is the first tie-break.
Two athletes are level on every tie-break. Is there a perform-off?
No. "The final ranking will remain a tie."
In a duilian event two pairs tie. What decides it?
The higher overall performance score, then the higher lowest-discarded performance mark.
How is the team title decided?
By the method in the regulations of that competition. For ties, the team with more first places in individual events ranks higher.
Why the rule exists
Scores to three decimal places still tie. The order of the tie-breaks says what the sport values when everything else is equal: first the athlete who risked more and landed it, then the one who performed better.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Events with degree of difficulty | Difficulty first, then performance | Taolu Rules Art. 14 (5.1) |
| Events without, duilian and jiti | Performance first | Taolu Rules Art. 14 (5.2) |
| All-around | Most first places, then second places | Taolu Rules Art. 14 (5.3) |
| Team events | Most individual first places, then second places | Taolu Rules Art. 14 (5.4) |
From the rule book
International Wushu Federation, Wushu Taolu Competition Rules and Judging Methods (2024), Article 14. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: Wushu Taolu Competition Rules and Judging Methods (2024) (PDF, Chinese and English).