Tennis Scoring

The First Point

A point starts with a serve and ends the moment the ball can no longer be played — either it bounces twice, lands out of bounds, hits the net and stays there, or a player makes an error.

The server always starts from behind the baseline and must land the serve in the diagonal service box on the other side of the net. They get two chances — a first serve and, if that one fails, a second serve. Missing both serves is a double fault, and the point goes to the returner automatically.

Once the serve is in, both players rally — trading shots back and forth — until one of them wins the point. A point is won when your opponent:

• Hits the ball into the net

• Hits the ball out of bounds

• Lets the ball bounce twice before returning it

• Hits the ball before it crosses the net (rare, but it happens)

You can also win a point outright with a winner — a shot your opponent simply cannot reach. An ace is the most dramatic version: a serve so good the returner never touches it.

The ball is allowed to bounce once before being hit, or a player can volley it out of the air before it bounces. The net is the constant obstacle — too low and the shot clips it, too hard and it flies long.

Every single exchange, no matter how long the rally, ends in exactly one point for one player. There are no ties within a point — someone always wins it.

Points within a game

Tennis uses its own scoring language. A player starts at "love" (zero) and counts up: 15, 30, 40. The first player to reach 40 and win one more point wins the game, unless deuce is reached.

Love → 15 → 30 → 40 → Win!

Deuce

If both players reach 40, it's called deuce (40–40). From deuce, a player must win two consecutive points to win the game. 

"Ad"

When the game is at deuce, winning one point gives "advantage" or "ad-in", if they win the next, they win the game. If they lose, it goes back to deuce. If they loose the deuce point it drops to "disadvantage" or "ad-out".

Games within a set

Playing a Set

A set is a collection of games played until one player or team reaches 6 games with a 2-game lead. Think of it as the middle layer of tennis scoring — points build into games, and games build into sets.

Switching Sides

Players switch ends after every odd-numbered game total, so after game 1, game 3, game 5, and so on. The easy rule to teach players: add the two scores together. If the sum is odd, switch. If it's even, stay.

Winning a set

The first player or team to win 6 games wins the set, but they must win by 2 games. So 6–4, 6–3, 6–0 are all valid set scores. If the score reaches 6–5, play continues. At 7–5, the leading player wins the set. At 6–6, a tiebreak is played.

The tiebreak game

A tiebreak replaces a full game when a set reaches 6–6. Points are counted normally (1, 2, 3...) rather than 15/30/40. The first player to reach 7 points wins, but must lead by at least 2. If it reaches 6–6 in the tiebreak, play continues until one player leads by 2.

In a tiebreak, players switch ends every 6 points (after points 6, 12, 18, etc.).

Set formats

Best of 3 sets (with match tiebreak) - Standard format

The most common format. Win 2 out of 3 sets to win the match.

• Each set is played to 6 games, with a tiebreak at 6–6 in any set.

• If the match reaches 1 set all, a full third set is played — or, in high school tennis, a 10-point match tiebreak is played instead of a full third set.

• The match tiebreak follows the same rules as a set tiebreak but is played to 10 points (win by 2).

8-game pro set - Quick format

Instead of playing multiple sets, both players compete in one extended set to 8 games. Win by 2 games required.

• Score progresses like a normal set: 1–0, 2–1, etc., up to 8 games.

• If the score reaches 7–7, a standard 7-point tiebreak is played to decide the match.

• Faster than a full 3-set match — great for tournaments with time constraints or large draws.

• Commonly used in doubles at the high school level or in round-robin formats.

No-ad scoring in a match - Speed variant

No-ad scoring can be applied to any format above. At every deuce situation (40–40), the next point wins the game — no advantage is played. This makes individual games shorter and more predictable in length.

• Used widely in high school dual matches to keep total match time manageable.

• At deuce, the receiving player/team chooses which side (deuce court or ad court) to receive on.

• Sets and matches still follow normal rules — only the deuce rule changes.

High school team match format

A high school tennis dual match is contested across multiple courts simultaneously. The team that wins the majority of individual matches earns the team victory. Each match is typically worth 1 point toward the team score.

4 Singles Courts + 3 Doubles Courts = 7 Team points available