If you’re new to the game of tennis and you’re just starting to watch professional tennis matches, you’re probably hearing many new terms such as “deuce”, “love”, “ad-in”, “ad-out”, and more. These terms aren’t types of tennis shots, types of equipment, or anything of the sort. They are all related to the score in tennis, but there’s much more to learn regarding how tennis is scored.
This article will give you an insight into the tennis scoring system. You will learn about tennis sets, games, points, and other rules that come with the game.
How Does Tennis Scoring Work?
The game of tennis has a significantly different scoring system from other popular sports like soccer, basketball, or similar. Unlike soccer, where there is a limited time players get to win the match, in tennis, the score progression will decide how long each match will be. There is no time limit on match duration in tennis, making it possible for matches to last hours upon hours.
In tennis, the scoring system is sort of divided into a few steps. Once the game begins, you have to score a certain amount of points to win what’s known as a “game”. Winning 6 “games” will grant you a won set.
Winning 2 sets in a row will win you the tennis match if you’re playing a best-of-three type of game. Some tennis tournaments, like the Grand Slams, have best-of-five tennis matches. Most tennis matches are also played with a 2 set difference, meaning you will have to win two more sets than your opponent to win the game. Because of this reason, tennis matches can go on forever if the players are equally matched.
Tennis Scoring Rules & Guidelines
As we mentioned, the tennis scoring system can be a bit weird, as you have to score points, then progress to winning games then sets, and then finally the match. To make it a bit simpler here is a basic layout of how a typical tennis match goes from the start.
How to Win a Tennis Game
In a full tennis match, winning more sets wins you the match. But, winning more games gets you more won sets. To win a set in tennis, you have to win 6 games without a tie-breaker. To win 6 games, you have to score more points.
The points in tennis are also a bit weird. They don’t work the same way as in soccer where you score 1, then 2, 3, and so on. In tennis, your first point is 15, then 30, then 40, and the next point wins you the game.
Without a tiebreaker, or a “deuce”, you need 4 points to win a tennis game. If you’re asking yourself why is tennis scored that way, it’s believed that a clock face was used on the court to display the current score.
However, if both of the players get a score of 40-40, this is what’s known as a deuce. In this case, the next point doesn’t win the game. In such a case, one player will have to score two more points in a row to win the game. If you score one, and then the opponent scores one after, then you’re back at the deuce phase and you get to start again.
How to Win a Tennis Set
Tennis sets are simpler than tennis games. The points aren’t messed up and they go in the order of 1, 2, 3, and so on. To win a tennis set, you will have to win 6 games. However, there are also tiebreakers in this phase of the match as well. This is where things get slightly trickier.
A tie-breaker in tennis can occur two times in this stage. Usually, winning 6 games wins you the set if the score isn’t anything higher than 6-4. If the result gets to a 5-5 score, the next game won’t be the winning game.
If a tiebreak game occurs, you enter another phase where you have to score 7 points to win the tiebreaker. In this case, you count the points in the standard order, 1, 2, 3, and so on up to 7.
How to Win a Match in Tennis
This is the final stage of winning a full tennis match. As we mentioned, 4 points win you a game, 6 games win you a set, and now the final stage will decide whether you win the match.
The most popular and common way professional tennis matches are played is in a best-of-three manner. This means that the player to win 2 sets first wins the match. In the best of five, you will have to win 3 sets to win the match. You can probably get why these games can take a long time to finish and can be exhausting.
Remember, you have to score 6 games, 4+ points in each, and then do all of that a couple of times to win. It can take even longer if you have tiebreak games or are playing a match where you have to win by a two-set difference.
When it comes to tennis points, these are the few rules that apply to each type of point that can and can’t be scored:
- Unreturnable Ball: the ball bounces twice on the same side
- Ace: a serve ball that can’t be returned. Practice improving your tennis serve to score more aces and win tennis matches more quickly
- Double Fault: both serves manage to be fault balls, making for an instant lost point
- Let: ball hits the net on serve
Tennis Scoring Terms You Should Know
Some of the terms that exist in a tennis match can also be confusing to new players. The game features all sorts of weird rules and terms for those not in the loop, which is why there’s a lot of learning involved when it comes to this sport.
Here are some essential tennis scoring terms everyone should be aware of and recognize:
- 0 points = Love
- 1 point = 15
- 2 points = 30
- 3 points = 40
- Tied score = All
- 40-40 = Deuce
- Deuce point won by server = Ad-In
- Deuce point won by receiver = Ad-Out