Tennis scoring has four levels: points win games, games win sets, and sets win the match. The unusual part is the score within a standard game, which progresses from love to 15, 30 and 40 instead of using 0, 1, 2 and 3.
Under standard advantage scoring, a player or team must win at least four points and lead by two to win a game. A set is normally won by reaching six games with a two-game margin, although a tie-break is commonly played at 6-6. The event’s published format determines how many sets are required and which approved variations apply.
Tennis Scoring at a Glance
| Level | What the Players Win | Usual Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Point | One rally | Opponent fails to make a legal return or otherwise loses the point |
| Game | A group of points served by one player | At least four points and a two-point lead under standard scoring |
| Set | A group of games | Usually six games and a two-game lead, with a tie-break commonly used at 6-6 |
| Match | The complete contest | Two sets in a best-of-three match or three sets in a best-of-five match |
This is the basic hierarchy. Approved alternatives include no-ad games, short sets and a match tie-break in place of a deciding set, so players should confirm the competition format before starting.
How a Point Is Won
Every point starts with a serve. Once the ball is in play, the point continues until one side fails to make a legal return or commits another point-ending violation.
Common ways to win a point include:
- The opponent hits the ball into the net.
- The opponent hits the ball outside the correct court.
- The opponent allows the ball to bounce twice before returning it. Wheelchair tennis has a separate two-bounce rule.
- The server misses both service attempts and commits a double fault.
- The opponent touches the net while the ball is in play.
- The ball in play touches the opponent, or something the opponent is wearing or carrying, except the racket.
A ball that touches a boundary line is in. A legal serve that touches the net and then lands in the correct service court is normally a service let and is replayed, unless the event has announced an approved no-let format.
For the wider playing rules around serves, court lines and hindrance, see Tennis Rules Explained: The Ultimate Guide.
How Points Are Counted in a Standard Game
The server’s score is called first. If the server has won two points and the receiver has won one, the score is 30-15. If those totals are reversed, the score is 15-30.
| Points Won in the Game | Score Call |
|---|---|
| 0 | Love |
| 1 | 15 |
| 2 | 30 |
| 3 | 40 |
| 4 | Game, if the player leads by at least two points |
Equal scores below 40 use the word “all,” as in 15-all and 30-all. When both sides have won three points, the score is deuce rather than 40-all.
What Does Love Mean?
Love means zero in a game. A score of love-30 means the server has no points and the receiver has two.
The origin of the term is not certain. The familiar claim that it came from the French word for egg is a popular folk explanation, but there is no firm historical evidence that French players used that word to mean zero. The practical rule is much clearer than the etymology: love always represents no points.
Why Does Tennis Use 15, 30 and 40?
The historical reason for the sequence has not been established conclusively. A widely repeated theory connects the numbers with quarter divisions on a clock face, but it should be treated as a theory rather than a proven explanation.
Modern rules simply define the sequence as love, 15, 30, 40 and game. Players do not calculate the numerical difference between those calls.
Deuce and Advantage Explained
At three points each, the score is deuce. From deuce, one side must win two consecutive points to take the game.
The first point after deuce gives that side advantage. If the same side wins the next point, it wins the game. If the other side wins, the score returns to deuce.
In informal score calls:
- Ad-in means the server has advantage.
- Ad-out means the receiver has advantage.
There is no limit to the number of times a standard game can return to deuce. This is why a player can win far more than four points before finally winning the game.
Worked Game Example
| Rally Result | Score Called |
|---|---|
| Start of game | Love-all |
| Server wins | 15-love |
| Receiver wins | 15-all |
| Receiver wins | 15-30 |
| Server wins | 30-all |
| Both sides win one more point | Deuce |
| Receiver wins | Advantage receiver, or ad-out |
| Server wins | Deuce |
| Server wins | Advantage server, or ad-in |
| Server wins | Game server |
The server remains the same throughout that game. At the end of a standard game, the server and receiver exchange roles for the next game.
How Games Form a Set
The two main set methods in the standard rules are the advantage set and the tie-break set. The method must be announced in advance.
Tie-Break Set
In a tie-break set, the first side to win six games with a two-game lead wins the set. A set can therefore finish 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 or 6-4.
At 5-5, one side can win the next two games and take the set 7-5. If the score reaches 6-6, a tie-break is played and the set winner records a 7-6 set score.
Advantage Set
An advantage set also requires at least six games and a two-game margin, but it has no tie-break at 6-6. Play continues until one side leads by two games, such as 8-6 or 10-8.
Advantage sets are now less common than tie-break sets, but they remain an approved method. The match regulations, not a general assumption, decide which format applies.
The difference between games, sets, match formats and draw rounds is covered in How Many Sets Are in Tennis? Rounds and Draws Explained.
How a Standard Tie-Break Works
A standard tie-break uses ordinary numbers rather than love, 15, 30 and 40. The first side to reach seven points with a two-point lead wins it. If the score reaches 6-6, play continues to 8-6, 9-7, 10-8 or another two-point margin.
The player due to serve starts with one point from the right, or deuce, side. The opponent then serves two points, and the players alternate two-point service turns until the tie-break ends. Under the standard procedure, players change ends after every six points.
The side that served the first tie-break point receives in the first game of the next set. For a full serving-order table and the differences between seven-point and 10-point formats, see Tennis Tie-Break Rules Explained.
Match Tie-Breaks and Deciding-Set Tie-Breaks
These formats are easy to confuse:
| Format | When It Starts | Target | What It Decides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard tie-break | Commonly at 6-6 in a tie-break set | 7 points, win by two | The set |
| Seven-point match tie-break | After the players split the preceding sets, when announced | 7 points, win by two | Replaces the deciding set and decides the match |
| 10-point match tie-break | After the players split the preceding sets, when announced | 10 points, win by two | Replaces the deciding set and decides the match |
| 10-point final-set tie-break | At 6-6 in an actual deciding set, when announced | 10 points, win by two | The final set and match |
A match tie-break does not create a normal set score such as 7-6. It replaces the deciding set. By contrast, a final-set tie-break is played only after the deciding set itself reaches 6-6.
How Sets Form a Match
In a best-of-three match, the first player or team to win two sets wins. The match may finish in two straight sets or require a deciding third set.
In a best-of-five match, the first side to win three sets wins. A match ends as soon as one side reaches the required total, so there is no need to play unused sets.
The event also decides whether a deciding set is played in full, replaced by a match tie-break, or concluded with a tie-break at a specified game score. Professional tours, Grand Slams, college competitions and local leagues do not all use one universal format.
No-Ad Scoring
No-ad scoring is an approved alternative designed to make game length more predictable. The points still progress from love to 15, 30 and 40, but at deuce the next point decides the game.
Under the general no-ad procedure, the receiver chooses whether to receive that deciding serve from the right or left side. In doubles, the receiving team cannot change positions for the deciding point. The published regulations for a particular competition can add event-specific procedures, so those regulations should be checked before play.
No-ad scoring changes games, not the meaning of a point, set or match. It is especially important not to continue to advantage by habit when the announced format is no-ad.
Calling and Writing a Tennis Score
Call the score before each serve so both sides can correct a disagreement before the next point begins. Within a game, call the server’s score first. At deuce, say “deuce”; after deuce, say “advantage server” or “advantage receiver.”
Set scores are written as games won by each side. A match score of 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 shows that the winner took the first set, lost the second and won the third in a tie-break.
When a publication includes the losing player’s tie-break points, it may show the final set as 7-6(5). That notation means the set-ending tie-break finished 7-5. If the tie-break ran beyond seven, 7-6(8) means the tie-break finished 10-8.
When Players Change Ends
During a set, players change ends after the first, third and every subsequent odd-numbered game. They also change at the end of a set unless the set contains an even total number of games; in that case, they change after the first game of the next set.
The standard tie-break procedure requires an end change after every six points. The rules also approve an alternative procedure that changes ends after the first point and every four points after that, but an event must adopt that variation rather than players applying it automatically.
Common Tennis Scoring Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ace | A legal serve the receiver does not touch |
| All | An equal score below deuce, or equal game score in a set |
| Break of serve | The receiver wins a game in which the opponent served |
| Break point | The receiver is one point from winning the server’s game |
| Deuce | Both sides have won at least three points and are level in the game |
| Double fault | The server faults on both service attempts and loses the point |
| Game point | One side is one point from winning the game |
| Let | A point or service is replayed under the applicable rule |
| Match point | One side is one point from winning the match |
| Set point | One side is one point from winning the set |
Doubles uses the same basic scoring hierarchy, but serving and receiving rotations add another layer. Tennis Doubles Rules Explained covers those positions and orders in detail.
Common Scoring Mistakes
- Calling the receiver’s score first. The server’s score comes first in a game.
- Saying 40-all instead of deuce.
- Believing a player always wins the game on the fourth point. At deuce, a two-point margin is required.
- Treating every 6-6 set the same. The event format determines the tie-break procedure.
- Assuming every deciding tie-break is first to 10. The rules also recognize a seven-point match tie-break, and some events use a full deciding set.
- Giving the opening tie-break server two points. That player serves only the first point.
- Forgetting that approved variations must be announced. Players should not switch between advantage, no-ad or alternative tie-break procedures mid-match.
Final Takeaway
To follow tennis scoring, remember the order: point, game, set, match. Standard games use love, 15, 30 and 40 and require a two-point margin; sets usually require six games and a two-game margin; matches require the announced number of sets.
The core system is consistent, but formats can vary. Confirm whether the competition uses advantage or no-ad games, a seven-point or 10-point tie-break, and a full or abbreviated deciding set before play begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a standard tennis game end at 40-40?
No. Under advantage scoring, 40-40 is deuce and one side must win two consecutive points. Under no-ad scoring, one deciding point is played from deuce.
Can a standard tie-break end 7-6?
No. A standard tie-break must be won by two points, so play continues at 6-6. The notation 7-6 refers to the set score, not a winning tie-break score.
Can a set end 6-5?
Not under the standard advantage-set or tie-break-set methods because neither side has a two-game lead. The set can finish 7-5, reach a tie-break at 6-6, or continue under the announced advantage-set format.
Is every tennis match best of three sets?
No. The standard rules permit best-of-three and best-of-five matches, and approved alternatives can replace a deciding set with a match tie-break. The competition regulations control the format.
Does a tie-break use 15, 30 and 40?
No. Tie-break points are counted as zero, 1, 2, 3 and so on. The target and winning margin depend on the announced tie-break format.