Rules · Scoring
How to keep score in tennis: a simple, complete guide
To keep score in tennis, you call love, 15, 30, 40 and then game; at 40-40 (deuce), a player must win two points in a row (advantage, then game). You need 6 games with a 2-game lead to win a set, with a tie-break at 6-6, and a match is played over best of 3 or best of 5 sets depending on the event.
Key takeaways
- In a game: love, 15, 30, 40, game. The server’s score is always called first.
- At 40-40 (deuce): you need a two-point lead; the first point gives advantage, the second gives the game.
- In a set: 6 games with a 2-game lead (6-4, 7-5); at 6-6, a tie-break decides the set (7-6).
- The tie-break is played to 7 points with a 2-point lead; the match tie-break to 10 points.
- The match is best of 3 sets (most common) or best of 5 sets (men’s singles at the Grand Slams).
How do you keep score in a tennis game?
Tennis scoring fits together in three levels: points make a game, games make a set, sets make the match. Within a game, points are not counted 1, 2, 3 but like this:
| Points won | Call |
|---|---|
| 0 | love |
| 1 | 15 |
| 2 | 30 |
| 3 | 40 |
| 4 (with a 2-point lead) | game |
The server’s score is always called first: “30-15” means the server is ahead. When both players have the same number of points, you say “15-all” or “30-all”.
Deuce and advantage
At 40-40, the call is “deuce”. The player who wins the next point has the advantage (“advantage server” or “advantage receiver”); if they win the following point too, they win the game. If they lose it, the score goes back to deuce, and so on until one player wins two points in a row.
Some formats, especially in doubles and many amateur competitions, replace this with no-ad scoring (a deciding point): at 40-40, a single point decides the game, and the receiver (or receiving team) chooses which side to receive from.
How do you win a set?
A set is won by the first player to take 6 games with at least a 2-game lead: 6-0, 6-1… up to 6-4. At 5-5, you must reach 7-5. At 6-6, a tie-break is usually played, and the set ends 7-6.
The serve alternates between players every game. Within each game, the server starts to the right of the centre mark, then alternates left and right on each point. Players change ends after the first game, then every two games (after each odd-numbered game of the set).
How is a tie-break scored?
In a tie-break, points are counted normally: 1, 2, 3… The first player to reach 7 points with a 2-point lead wins the tie-break and the set. At 6-6 in the tie-break, play continues until one player is two points ahead (8-6, 9-7…).
- The player whose turn it is to serve serves the first point, from the right.
- After that, each player serves two consecutive points, starting from the left.
- Players change ends every 6 points (after 6 points, 12 and so on).
- The player who served first in the tie-break receives in the first game of the next set.
The match tie-break
The match tie-break (often called a super tie-break or 10-point tie-break) follows the same rules but is won at 10 points with a 2-point lead. It often replaces the third set in doubles and in many amateur competitions. At the Grand Slams, a 10-point tie-break is played at 6-6 in the deciding set.
How many sets do you need to win a match?
The vast majority of matches are best of 3 sets. Men’s singles at the Grand Slams are best of 5 sets. Formats also vary in doubles, junior and amateur competitions: full details in our article on how many sets are played in tennis.
Example: reading a full score
A score of 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 reads like this: the winner took the first set 6 games to 4, lost the second 3-6, then won the third on a tie-break. The match was therefore best of 3 sets. A tie-break score is often shown in brackets: 7-6 (5) means the loser of the tie-break scored 5 points.
How do you win a point?
You win a point when your opponent fails to return the ball correctly: into the net or out, a double bounce, a double fault on serve, the ball hitting them, touching the net during the rally. Our guide to tennis faults covers every case, and our article on the double fault explains how to limit it.
For children starting competition, our coaches build the rules and self-umpiring into practice matches, for example during the Player Camp Junior.
Knowing the score is not just about the rules. In the Mouratoglou Method, young players learn early to read the score: you do not play the same point at 40-0 as at 30-40, and that is where tennis tactics begin. At the Mouratoglou Academy on the French Riviera (Biot, near Nice), practice matches are also used to build those reflexes. For more advice, head to the Coaching Corner.
Ages 6–17MorningsAll levelsPlayer Camp JuniorFun and demanding tennis mornings to make progress during the holidays.DISCOVER Frequently asked questions
Why is tennis scored 15, 30, 40?
Nobody knows for certain. The most common explanation goes back to real tennis (jeu de paume), the ancestor of modern tennis, where the score is said to have moved round a clock face in quarters (15, 30, 45), with 45 later shortened to 40 to make it easier to call.
Why is zero called “love” in tennis?
The origin is uncertain. A popular theory links it to the French word for egg, “l’œuf”, because of the shape of a zero; another links it to the idea of playing “for love”, that is for nothing. Neither is proven.
Who serves first in a tie-break?
The player whose turn it is to serve in the set serves the first point of the tie-break. After that, each player serves two points in a row. In the next set, the other player serves the first game.
When do players change ends in tennis?
After the first game of each set, then every two games, that is after each odd-numbered game. During a tie-break, players change ends every 6 points. At the end of a set, they change ends if the total number of games in that set is odd.
What is no-ad scoring?
It is a variant used in some formats, mainly doubles: at deuce, a single deciding point wins the game, with no advantage. The receiver chooses which side to receive the serve from.
