Tennis scoring can look strange when you first encounter it. Instead of simply counting points as 1, 2, 3 and 4, a regular tennis game moves through love, 15, 30 and 40. Then those points are used to win games, games are used to win sets and sets are used to win the match.
Once you understand that hierarchy, the system becomes much easier to follow.
The basic structure is:
Points → Games → Sets → Match
The official Rules of Tennis recognize standard games, tiebreak games, tiebreak sets, advantage sets and different match formats. The scoring format being used should be established before the match begins.
Understanding Points in a Tennis Game
A regular tennis game uses four familiar scoring terms:
- Love = 0 points
- 15 = 1 point
- 30 = 2 points
- 40 = 3 points
- The next point may win the game
The server’s score is announced first.
For example, if the server has won two points and the receiver has won one, the score is:
30–15
If the receiver has won two points while the server has won none, the score is:
Love–30
This is one of the most important habits for beginners to learn: when calling the score during a game, think from the server’s perspective.
What Does “Love” Mean?
In tennis, love simply means zero.
So:
Love–15 means the server has zero points and the receiver has one.
30–love means the server has two points and the receiver has zero.
Love is only the tennis term used when a player has not yet won a point in that game.
What Does “All” Mean?
When both players have the same score, you may hear the word all.
For example:
- 15–15 may be called 15-all
- 30–30 may be called 30-all
- 3–3 in games may be called 3-all
Once both players reach 40, however, the score has a special name.
It becomes deuce.
What Is Deuce?
Deuce occurs when both players have won three points in the game.
In other words:
40–40 = deuce
At this point, simply winning one more point is not enough to win the game under standard advantage scoring.
A player must win two consecutive points from deuce to take the game.
This requirement is why some tennis games can continue for several minutes even after both players have reached 40.
What Is Advantage?
The first point won after deuce gives that player advantage.
If the server wins the point after deuce, you may hear:
Advantage server
or
Ad-in
If the receiver wins it, you may hear:
Advantage receiver
or
Ad-out.
The player with advantage is now one point away from winning the game.
There are two possible outcomes.
If the player with advantage wins the next point, that player wins the game.
If the opponent wins the next point instead, the advantage disappears and the score returns to deuce.
For example:
Deuce → Advantage Server → Server wins next point → Game Server
But:
Deuce → Advantage Server → Receiver wins next point → Deuce
This cycle can repeat as many times as necessary until one player wins two consecutive points beginning from deuce.
How Do You Win a Game?
Under standard scoring, a player must win at least four points and must finish the game with a margin of at least two points.
A simple game might look like this:
Love–love
15–love
30–love
40–love
Game
The same player won four straight points, so the game ended immediately.
Another game might go:
15–love
15-all
30–15
30-all
40–30
Game
Because the score never reached deuce, the player at 40 needed only one additional point to win.
However, if the score reaches 40-all, the deuce and advantage system takes over.
Games Build a Set
Winning one game does not normally win a tennis match. Players continue playing games and count how many games each player has won.
A common set score might progress like this:
1–0
1–1
2–1
3–1
3–2
4–2
5–2
6–2
The player who reaches six games with the required margin wins the set.
Under a standard tiebreak set, a player or team wins the set by reaching at least six games while leading by two games. If the score reaches 6–6, a tiebreak is played.
Common completed set scores therefore include:
6–0
6–1
6–2
6–3
6–4
A set cannot normally finish 6–5 because that is only a one-game difference.
What Happens at 5–5?
Suppose the players reach:
5–5
One player could win the next two games and take the set:
6–5 → 7–5
But if each player wins one of the next two games, the score becomes:
6–6
In a tiebreak set, that triggers a tiebreak game.
How Does a Tiebreak Work?
A tiebreak uses ordinary numbers rather than love, 15, 30 and 40.
The score is counted:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7…
A standard set tiebreak is normally won by the first player to reach seven points with at least a two-point lead.
So these are winning tiebreak scores:
7–0
7–3
7–5
But:
7–6
does not end the tiebreak because the leader is ahead by only one point.
The tiebreak continues until someone leads by two.
For example:
8–6
9–7
10–8
could all be final tiebreak scores.
The winner of a regular tiebreak at 6–6 wins the set 7–6.
Notice the difference between the tiebreak score and the set score.
A player might win the tiebreak itself 7–4, but the completed set is recorded as:
7–6
Why Is a 7–6 Set Different?
A score of 7–6 tells you that the players reached six games each and the set was then decided by a tiebreak.
For a beginner reading a match score, compare these:
7–5
means the winner took seven games and won the set without a tiebreak.
7–6
normally indicates that the players reached 6–6 and a tiebreak decided the set.
The tiebreak score may sometimes appear separately in brackets or smaller figures, depending on where you are viewing the result.
What Is an Advantage Set?
Not every set has to use a tiebreak.
The official rules also recognize an advantage set. In this format, the first player or team to win at least six games with a two-game margin wins the set, and there is no normal tiebreak at 6–6.
That means an advantage set could continue:
6–6
7–6
7–7
8–7
9–7
The set ends at 9–7 because one player finally leads by two games.
For beginners, the main thing to remember is that the match format should be known before play starts. If you are playing a standard recreational tiebreak set, reaching 6–6 normally means you play a tiebreak.
Sets Build the Match
Once you understand games and sets, deciding the overall match is straightforward.
The official Rules of Tennis allow matches to be played as either:
Best of three sets — first player or team to win two sets wins the match.
Best of five sets — first player or team to win three sets wins the match.
Best-of-three is the most common format beginners are likely to encounter.
For example:
Match Example 1
6–3, 6–4
Player A wins the first set 6–3 and the second 6–4.
Player A has won two sets, so the match is over.
Match Example 2
6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Player A wins the first set.
Player B wins the second.
The match is now one set each, so the third set decides the winner.
Player A wins the third set 6–2 and therefore wins the match two sets to one.
What Is a Match Tiebreak?
Some formats do not play a complete final set.
Instead, when the players are tied at one set each in a best-of-three match, they may play a match tiebreak to decide the winner.
One officially recognized version is a 10-point match tiebreak. The first player or team to reach at least 10 points while leading by two wins both the tiebreak and the match.
For example:
10–6 is enough to win.
But:
10–9 is not.
Play must continue until there is a two-point margin, such as:
11–9
or
14–12
A match tiebreak is different from the normal seven-point tiebreak commonly used to settle a set at 6–6.
Because recreational leagues, tournaments and organized matches may use different formats, players should confirm whether the deciding set is a full set or a match tiebreak before starting.
Standard Scoring and No-Ad Scoring
Another variation beginners may encounter is no-ad scoring.
Standard advantage scoring requires a player to win two consecutive points from deuce.
With no-ad scoring, a deciding point is used instead: when the players reach deuce, the next point decides the game.
No-ad scoring is an officially recognized alternative scoring method and is used in some competition formats.
So before a recreational or organized match, it helps to confirm whether you are playing:
regular advantage scoring
or
no-ad scoring
The familiar love, 15, 30 and 40 progression remains the same until deuce.
Reading a Tennis Score From Start to Finish
Imagine a completed match score of:
6–4, 4–6, 7–6
Here is what it tells you.
The first player won the opening set six games to four.
The second player won the next set six games to four.
The players therefore entered a deciding third set tied at one set each.
In the final set, they reached 6–6.
A tiebreak decided the set, giving the winner the set 7–6 and the match two sets to one.
The score does not tell you every individual point that was played. It summarizes the games and sets that determined the match.
The Tennis Scoring System at a Glance
The easiest way to remember tennis scoring is to move through the system one level at a time:
Points make a game.
A regular game progresses through:
Love → 15 → 30 → 40 → Game
At 40–40:
Deuce → Advantage → Game
with two consecutive points required from deuce under standard scoring.
Games make a set.
A typical tiebreak set requires at least six games and a two-game lead. At 6–6, a tiebreak usually decides the set.
Sets make the match.
Win two sets in a best-of-three match or three sets in a best-of-five match and you win the match.
Once you stop looking at tennis scoring as one complicated system and instead think of it as points inside games, games inside sets and sets inside a match, the numbers start to make sense very quickly.