Tennis scoring explained, love, deuce, advantage and the tiebreak
Love, 15, 30, 40, deuce and the tiebreak. A calm walk through how tennis is counted, from the first point of a game to the deciding set at a major.
Tennis has one of the oddest scoring systems in sport, and it is often the first thing that puts newcomers off. Points go 15, 30, 40, zero is called love, and a single game can seem to last for ever at . Once you see the three layers, though, it falls into place within an evening: points make games, games make sets, and sets make a match.
Points and games, from love to game
A game goes to the first player to win four points, with one condition: you need a lead of two. The points are called love (no points), 15, 30 and 40, and the fourth winning point is simply game. The server’s score is always called first, so a server who has won two points and lost one is at 30-15.
When both players reach 40, the score is deuce. The next point gives one player the , often called “advantage in” when the server holds it and “advantage out” when the receiver does. Win the next point as well and you take the game. Lose it and you are back at deuce, and in theory that loop can repeat many times.
Some events, and many club leagues, use to keep matches short. At deuce a single deciding point is played and whoever wins it takes the game. Under the ITF rules the receiver chooses which side of the court to receive from, and in doubles the receiving pair may not swap positions for that point. In mixed doubles, the player of the same gender as the server receives it.
Sets, the two game lead and changing ends
A set goes to the first player to win six games with a lead of two, so 6-4 wins a set but 6-5 does not. From five games all the set runs on to 7-5 or reaches six games all. In an advantage set there is no and play continues until someone is two games clear. Most matches today use tiebreak sets instead, where a tiebreak settles the set at six all.
Players serve alternate games. They change ends after the first, third and every following odd game of each set, so the total number of games tells you when to swap. At the end of a set you change ends only if that set had an odd number of games; otherwise you change after the first game of the next set. A match is played as the best of three or the best of five sets.
The tiebreak, and who serves when
At six games all in a tiebreak set, one tiebreak game decides the set. The count is simple: zero, 1, 2, 3 and so on. The first player to seven points with a two point lead wins the tiebreak and the set 7-6. At six points all it carries on until someone is two clear, which is why you sometimes see a tiebreak finish 12-10.
The order of service is where most club arguments start, so it is worth learning the sequence once.
- The player whose turn it is to serve takes the first point, from the right half of the court.
- The opponent then serves the next two points, the first from the left and the second from the right.
- From then on each player serves two points in a row, always starting from the left.
- Players change ends after every six points, with no seated rest.
- The player who served first in the tiebreak receives in the first game of the next set.
In doubles the pattern is the same, and each team keeps the serving rotation it used during the set. Because the server changes after the first point and then every two points, nobody gains much from serving first, which is exactly the point of the design.
Deciding sets at the majors and the match tiebreak
For years the four majors settled the deciding set in four different ways. In the seasons just before 2022 the Australian Open played a first to ten tiebreak at six all, the US Open a standard seven point tiebreak at six all, Wimbledon a tiebreak only at 12 all, and Roland Garros no final set tiebreak at all.
Since 2022 all four have used the same format. If the deciding set reaches six games all, a tiebreak to ten points with a two point margin decides the match. That is the fifth set in a best of five match and the third set in a best of three. The ten point final set tiebreak also appears among the alternative scoring methods in the ITF rules.
The is a different thing, even though it also counts to ten. It replaces the deciding set completely, so at one set all the players go straight into a single tiebreak instead of a third set. You will meet it in professional doubles and in many club, league and seniors events, often alongside no-ad scoring.
Points make games, games make sets, and sets make a match.
Where 15, 30 and 40 come from
Honestly, nobody knows for certain. The best known theory links the count to a clock face divided into quarters, with 45 later shortened to 40, but there is no firm evidence for it. Another explanation points to court positions in jeu de paume, the older French game from which tennis descends, and that too remains unproven.
The word love has its own stories. One says it comes from the French word for egg, because a zero looks like one; another says it reflects playing for the love of the game rather than for a stake. Both are pleasant to tell over a drink after the match, as long as nobody presents them as settled history.
Keeping score in a club match
Without an umpire, the score is your shared responsibility. Good practice is for the server to call the score clearly before each point, so that any disagreement surfaces at once rather than three games later. These are the slips that cause most of the confusion:
- Calling the receiver’s score first. The server’s score always comes first, so 15-40 means the server is behind.
- Forgetting the two point lead in a tiebreak, and stopping at 7-6.
- Changing ends at the wrong moment, especially after a set with an even number of games.
- Losing track of who served first in the tiebreak, which decides who serves first in the next set.
- Agreeing the format too late. Settle advantage or no-ad, and a third set or a match tiebreak, before the warm-up ends.
Learn those few points and you will rarely be the player who has to ask what the score is. If a term still puzzles you, our Glossary explains the language of all three games in plain words.
Terms in this article
- Deuce
- The score when both players or teams have won three points in a game, so one side must now win two points in a row.
- Advantage
- The score after deuce for the player who wins the next point; winning the following point takes the game.
- No-ad scoring
- A format in which a single deciding point is played at deuce, so each game ends on the next point.
- Tiebreak
- A special game played at six games all, won by the first player to seven points with a two point lead.
- Match tiebreak
- A tiebreak to ten points, with a two point lead, played instead of a full deciding set.
Questions readers ask
Why is zero called love in tennis?
Nobody can say for sure. One popular story links it to the French word for egg, because the figure zero looks like one. Another suggests it comes from playing for the love of the game rather than for money. Neither has been proven, so treat both as folklore. What matters on court is simple: love means no points, and a love game is one won without the opponent scoring a point.
What is the difference between a tiebreak and a match tiebreak?
A tiebreak is played at six games all to decide a set, and it is won by the first player to seven points with a two point lead. A match tiebreak replaces the whole deciding set: at one set all, players go straight into a tiebreak to ten points, again with a two point lead. Club and doubles events often use it to keep matches to a predictable length.
How often do players change ends during a set?
Players change ends after the first, third and every following odd game of each set. At the end of a set they swap only if that set had an odd number of games, otherwise they swap after the first game of the next set. In a tiebreak, ends change after every six points. Following the odd game rule keeps sun and wind fair for both sides over the course of a match.
