How Tennis Scoring Works: Points, Games & Sets

You are standing at the baseline, the server says “thirty-fifteen” and you realise you have no idea how many points you need to win the game. Or you are watching a final on TV and the commentator says “break point at deuce” as if that were obvious. Tennis scoring looks strange at first because it does not count 1, 2, 3. It counts in a vocabulary of its own, and then stacks points into games, games into sets and sets into a match.

The good news is that the whole system fits in four layers, and once you see them it takes about ten minutes to learn. This guide goes from the smallest unit, a single point, to the full match, then covers the variations you will meet in social and club tennis: no-ad scoring, tie-breaks and the 10-point match tie-break. At the end there are some practical habits for keeping score honestly when there is no umpire.

The four layers at a glance

Layer	What you win	How you win it
Point	A rally	The other side hits out, into the net, double faults, or cannot return the ball
Game	A run of points	First to four points, with a lead of at least two
Set	A run of games	First to six games, with a lead of at least two (tie-break at 6-6)
Match	A run of sets	Most sets: two in a best-of-three, three in a best-of-five

Everything below is a detail on one of these four rows.

Scoring a game: love, 15, 30, 40

A game is the smallest scoreboard unit you hear called out. One player serves for the whole game, and the points are named in a fixed order:

• No points: love
• First point: 15
• Second point: 30
• Third point: 40
• Fourth point: game, if you lead by at least two points

The server’s score is called first. If the server has won two points and the receiver one, the score is “30-15”. If it is the other way round, it is “15-30”. This is why the server is the natural person to announce the score: they know whose point comes first.

Why 15, 30, 40 and not 15, 30, 45? Nobody has a fully reliable answer, and it does not matter for playing. Treat the numbers as labels. You win a game by being the first to four points and having a two-point margin.

Deuce and advantage

If both players reach three points, the score is 40-40, called deuce. At deuce the “win by two” rule matters:

1. The player who wins the next point has the advantage (often called “ad”).
2. If that player wins the following point as well, they win the game.
3. If they lose it, the score returns to deuce.

A game can therefore go back and forth between deuce and advantage many times. That is the long, tense game you sometimes see in matches, and it is normal.

When a score is written as “ad in” it means the server has the advantage; “ad out” means the receiver does. In casual play many people say “advantage Sam” or just “advantage me”.

Break point and game point

Two terms that come up all the time:

• Game point means the player is one point away from winning the game.
• Break point means the receiver is one point away from winning the game, which would “break” the server. Breaks are the main way sets are won, because a server usually has an advantage in their own game.

No-ad scoring

Some formats skip the advantage. In no-ad scoring the first player to win four points wins the game, and at 40-40 the next point decides it. The receiver typically chooses which side to receive serve on that deciding point. No-ad is used in some doubles events, exhibitions and team formats to shorten matches. If you are signing up to a social or club competition, check whether no-ad is in use, because it changes how you think about 40-40.

Scoring a set: games to six

A set is a collection of games. In the standard version:

• The first player or side to win six games wins the set, provided they lead by two. 6-3 and 6-4 win a set. 6-5 does not.
• At 6-5 the leader serves or receives for one more game. If they win it, the set is 7-5. If not, the set is 6-6.
• At 6-6 a tie-break is usually played (see below). The winner takes the set 7-6.

Who serves? Service alternates every game. In doubles, each player on a team takes a turn to serve in order, so each of the four players serves once every four games.

Changing ends

Players swap sides of the net after the first game and then after every odd-numbered game (after 1, 3, 5 and so on), and also at the end of a set if the total number of games is odd. This evens out the effect of sun, wind and any slope on the court. In casual play you will see people swap at “odd games” and take a short sip of water, which is also when the rules allow a short rest.

Advantage sets versus tie-break sets

Not every event plays a tie-break at 6-6. Under the ITF’s Rules of Tennis, the organisers must announce in advance whether the set will be an advantage set or a tie-break set:

• In an advantage set, play continues until one side leads by two games (8-6, 9-7 and so on). There is no tie-break.
• In a tie-break set, a tie-break game at 6-6 decides the set.

In practice, most club and social tennis uses tie-break sets because they put a limit on how long a set can last. Some events use shorter sets, such as first to four games, to fit more matches into a day. Read the event rules before you start rather than assuming.

The tie-break

A tie-break is a special game played at 6-6. It is scored differently from an ordinary game:

• Points are counted 1, 2, 3, 4 rather than 15, 30, 40.
• The first player or side to reach seven points wins, with a lead of at least two. So 7-5 wins, but 7-6 does not; play continues to 8-6 or 7-7.
• The player due to serve starts by serving one point, and after that each player serves two points in a row, alternating.
• Players change ends after every six points.

The winner of the tie-break wins the set 7-6. Whoever received first in the tie-break will serve first in the next set.

Scoring a match: sets and the deciding set

A match is the best of three sets (win two) or the best of five sets (win three). Best-of-five is rare outside the biggest professional events. Most recreational matches are shorter than that, and many club formats play just one set or a fixed number of games.

The match tie-break (10-point tie-break)

When a match reaches one set all, some competitions replace the deciding third set with a match tie-break. It is played like a tie-break but to ten points with a two-point lead needed. It is common in doubles and mixed doubles, in some club leagues and in events where courts are booked for a fixed time. It keeps a match to a predictable length.

Two things to check beforehand: whether the match tie-break is being used and whether it replaces only the third set or the whole format. The organisers decide, and it is the most common source of “wait, I thought we were playing a full third set” confusion.

A worked example

Here is a short game from the server’s point of view, to see the vocabulary in action:

Point won by	Score called (server first)
Server	15-love
Receiver	15-all
Server	30-15
Receiver	30-all
Receiver	30-40 (break point)
Server	deuce
Server	ad in
Receiver	deuce
Receiver	ad out
Receiver	game, receiver (a break)

Note that “15-all” and “30-all” are used for equal scores below 40, while “deuce” is used from three points each. Those are the only two special names you need beyond love.

Keeping score when there is no umpire

Most recreational tennis has no umpire, so score keeping is shared. These habits prevent most disputes:

• The server calls the score before every point, loudly enough for the other side to hear, with their own score first.
• Correct disagreements immediately. If you disagree about the score, go back to the last point both of you agree on and replay from there, rather than arguing about it at the end of the game.
• In a tie-break, call the points as numbers: “four-three”. Do not mix them up with 15-30-40.
• Know your format before you start. Ask whether it is tie-break or advantage, no-ad or advantage, and whether there is a match tie-break. Thirty seconds of agreement beats ten minutes of argument.
• Count games out loud on changeovers. “I think it is 3-2 to me” is enough for the other side to say “yes” or “no, 2-2”.

Our guide to tennis etiquette goes deeper on line calls and honesty in unofficiated matches, and the beginners’ guide covers the rest of the basics.

Why social formats often use their own scoring

Standard scoring was designed for two players or two pairs on one court, playing until a winner emerges. That is not always what a group of people who just want to play for a couple of hours need. In a group session, long deuce games and best-of-three matches mean some people wait while others play, and a lopsided score is not much fun for anyone.

That is why drop-in and social formats often use short, simple scoring: a fixed number of games, a single set, or a race to a target number of points. Breakers Open Play, for example, uses a simpler format than the one above: level-matched, drop-in sessions where you play singles rallies in rotating teams and the first side to reach 21 wins the game. The Open Play page explains the format in full. Open Play runs in Bangkok for now, and you can see the next sessions in the Breakers app. The point is the same one this whole guide makes: any scoring system works as long as everyone knows it before the first ball is hit.

If you are looking for somewhere to play, the club directory lists courts across Southeast Asia and beyond, and the Bangkok directory covers the city’s clubs and districts. Doubles players might also like our guide to mixed doubles, which covers how scoring and positions work in a pair.

Quick reference

• Points in a game: love, 15, 30, 40, then game (win by two).
• At 40-40: deuce, then advantage, then game. Under no-ad, one deciding point.
• Games in a set: first to six, win by two.
• At 6-6: tie-break (first to seven, win by two) or play on, depending on the event.
• Match: best of three or five sets. A match tie-break (first to ten, win by two) may replace the final set.
• Always: server’s score first, and agree the format before you start.

Sources

• International Tennis Federation, “Rules of Tennis 2026” — https://www.itftennis.com/media/7221/2026-rules-of-tennis-english.pdf
• International Tennis Federation, “2026 amendments to the Rules of Tennis and Beach Tennis” — https://www.itftennis.com/media/7224/2026-amendments-to-the-rules-of-tennis-and-beach-tennis.pdf
• Wikipedia, “Tennis scoring system” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_scoring_system
• Special Olympics, “Sports Essentials: Tennis Rules 2024” — https://media.specialolympics.org/resources/sports-essentials/sport-rules/Sports-Essentials-Tennis-Rules-2024.pdf