How to Keep Score in Tennis: Inside the Tennis Scoring System

It’s important to learn the basic framework of a tennis match so that you can understand the scoring system.

• Matches consist of games and sets. There are six games in a set, and three sets in each match. The first player to win two sets will win the match. (Unless you’re playing men’s professional tennis, in which case the sets are best out of five).
• Each game must be won by two points. The first player to win four points in a game will win the game, but only if they score two more points than their opponent. For example, if your opponent has three points and you have four points, your opponent can only win once they get their seventh point.
• Each set must be won by two games. The first player to win six or more games in a set will win the set, but only if they win two more games than their opponent. For example, if you have won six games and your opponent has won five, you will need to win the seventh game to win the set.

Here’s how the tennis scoring system works:

• The game starts at love. Each game starts out at 0-0, or “love,” increasing to 15, then 30, then 40 for each point scored. For example, if both players each win one point in the game, it is 15-15, or 15-all.
• Servers score is announced first. Only one player serves per game, and always starts on the right side of the court, alternating sides each point. At the end of the game, the players switch turns serving, and on every odd game, they’ll switch the end of the court they play on. The server’s score is always announced first (so if the server wins the first point of the game as well as the following point, the score is 30-love).
• Enter the ad-phase. If each player wins enough points to get the score to 40-40 (also known as a deuce or 40-all), they enter the “ad phase” of the game. Since every game must be won by two points, one player must score two points in a row. If the server wins the first point after the deuce, the score becomes advantage-in (ad-in).
• Win or go back to deuce. Winning the next point wins the game for the server, but losing the point will return the game score back to deuce, in which case the server must try to win two consecutive points again.
• Ad-out triggers a must-win situation. If the server loses the first point after deuce, the score becomes advantage-out (ad-out) and they must then win the next three points in succession—the first point returns the score to deuce, and then two more points to win the game.
• No-ad scoring speeds up the pace. If you prefer to play a quicker game, “no-ad scoring” is also acceptable, according to the official tennis rules. If you and the opposing player elect to play that way, 40-40/deuce becomes the game point, so the first person to win the next point wins the game.

Scoring tennis points happens in a few ways, such as:

• You hit a winner. If you’re playing against an opponent and hit a shot that’s unreturnable and untouchable, you win the point. This applies to forehands, backhands, volleys, overheads, and even lobs. A service ace (when you serve the ball without the opposing player touching it) is also considered a type of winner.
• You force an error. Tennis isn’t just about power, it’s about stamina and strategy. Two tennis players at equal skill levels or with similar playing styles may end up having long, aggressive rallies. However, if you have the endurance to keep the ball to your opponent’s weakness, you may eventually force them to hit it out or into the net, leading to a forced error, and another point for you.
• The opponent makes an unforced error. Sometimes the conditions are just right (or you just get extremely lucky), and the opponent makes a mistake all on their own. If you’ve incidentally managed to set the opposing player up for the perfect shot and they whiff it, that’s an unforced error. Another example of an unforced error is the double fault. If a player misses their first serve, they get a second chance to redeem themselves. During the second serve, if the server commits a foot fault or the player serves into the wrong service box, the net, or out of bounds, it’s a double fault. Since the server is the one responsible for setting the point up, failing to land the shot is an unforced error.

A player who wins four points in a row wins the tennis game. With ad-scoring, you can play as many as eight points, and if you have an especially long deuce round, even more.

• A player wins the first two sets. The player who wins six games wins the set, as long as they lead by two (for example, 6-4). If the score reaches 5-5, the players may go up to seven games to win the set, making the maximum score without a tiebreaker 7-5. The player who wins the first two sets wins the tennis match. If player A wins the first set, and their opponent wins the second set, then whoever wins the third time wins game, set, match.
• First player to seven wins in a tiebreaker. Sometimes players end up with a tied score in a set (6-6). In this case, the players enter a tiebreak, where the first player to seven points wins the set, and must also be won by two points. An example of a tennis score with a tiebreak would be 7-6 (to represent the games) and 7-5 (to represent the tiebreak points). However, the tiebreak can continue past seven points if neither player can win two in a row. When you’re playing a tiebreak round, players alternate their end of the court when the sum of the points equals six or multiples thereof (3-3, 6-6, etc.).

Tournaments like the US Open and Wimbledon handle tiebreakers differently than regular-season games. Here are some of the ways that tiebreakers work in tournaments:

• Grand slams have super tiebreakers. At grand slams like the US Open, mixed doubles matches are automatically played with no-ad scoring rules, and a super tiebreaker (first to 10 points) is played instead of a third set.
• No tiebreaks at the French Open. For mixed doubles in the French Open, there are no tiebreaks, and the players must continue the set until they win by two games, also known as an advantage set.
• Win the final set by two games at Wimbledon. At Wimbledon, the first two sets can employ a tiebreak, but the final set must be won by two games. Only if the teams tie at 12 games each is a first-to-seven tiebreaker used.

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