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How Tennis Scoring Works: Games, Sets, Deuce and Tiebreaks

A standard tennis game uses love, 15, 30 and 40 with a two-point margin after deuce; a standard tiebreak set is won at six games by two or through a seven-point tiebreak at 6–6.

Timeline

  1. Point: A rally awards one point; standard game scores progress love, 15, 30 and 40.
  2. Game and set: Win the game by two points after deuce; normally win six games by two, with a tiebreak at 6–6 in a tiebreak set.
  3. Match: Win the required number of sets under the competition’s announced best-of-three, best-of-five or approved alternative format.

Tennis nests points inside games, games inside sets and sets inside a match. In a standard game, zero is called love and the first three points are announced as 15, 30 and 40. If one player wins the next point before both reach 40, that player wins the game; the unusual vocabulary changes the label, not the fact that each rally contributes one point. [1][2]

At 40–40 the score is deuce. A player must then win two consecutive points: the first creates advantage and the second wins the game. If the player with advantage loses the next point, the score returns to deuce. Approved no-ad formats can replace this sequence with a deciding point, so a league or tournament’s stated format matters. [1][2]

In a standard tiebreak set, the first player to win six games wins the set only with a two-game margin. A 6–4 set is complete, while 6–5 is not. If the score reaches 6–6, a tiebreak game is played. Its winner takes the set 7–6, regardless of the exact point score inside the tiebreak. [1][2]

A standard set tiebreak is first to seven points with a margin of two, so 7–5 finishes it but 7–6 does not; play continues to 8–6, 9–7 or another two-point margin. The player due to serve begins with one point, then service alternates in blocks of two points. Players change ends after every six points in the tiebreak. [1][2]

Most standard matches are best of three sets, meaning the first player or team to win two sets wins the match. Some competitions use best of five, requiring three sets. The ITF rules also recognize alternatives such as short sets, no-ad games and a match tiebreak used instead of a final set. The event’s published regulations choose among approved formats. [1][2][3]

The server’s score is called first in a standard game. Players change ends after the first game and then after every odd-numbered game of each set, with an additional change at the end of a set unless the total number of games is even. In doubles, partners preserve their chosen serving and receiving order for the set under the rules. [1][3]

To read a scoreboard, start from the largest unit: sets won, then games in the current set, then points in the current game. A display such as 1 set to 0, 3–2, 30–15 means the leader has one completed set, leads three games to two now, and the server leads the current game by two points to one. Always check the event format before predicting how much remains. [1][2][3]

Sources

  1. International Tennis Federation — 2026 Rules of Tennis
  2. International Tennis Federation — Tennis Glossary
  3. International Tennis Federation — Rules and Regulations

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