Tennis Scoring Terms: Love, Deuce, Advantage, 15-30-40

You are standing on court, your partner shouts “thirty-love, your serve”, and your opponent replies “that’s fifteen-all”. Somewhere in that exchange, nobody is sure who is right. Tennis scoring has its own vocabulary, and unlike the rest of the sport it does not make sense when you first hear it. Why does a game go 15, 30, 40 and not 1, 2, 3? Why is zero called “love”? What is the difference between deuce and advantage, and what exactly is a bagel?

This is a glossary-first guide to the words you hear on court and on the broadcast, with the story behind the odd ones. If you want the step-by-step mechanics of how points become games, sets and matches, read our companion guide to how tennis scoring works. This page is about the language: what each term means, when you will hear it, and what is known (and not known) about where it came from.

The quick reference

Here is every term in this article in one table, so you can find what you need and move on.

Term	Meaning
Love	Zero points
15, 30, 40	One, two and three points won in a game
15-all, 30-all	Both players have the same number of points (below 40)
Deuce	40-40: three points each, a player must now lead by two
Advantage (ad)	The player who won the point after deuce
Game point	One point from winning the game
Break point	One point from winning a game on the opponent’s serve
Set point	One point from winning the set
Match point	One point from winning the match
Hold	The server wins their own service game
Break	The receiver wins the server’s game
Tie-break	A special game played at 6-6 in a set
No-ad	A game format where deuce is decided by one point
Bagel	A set won 6-0
Breadstick	A set won 6-1
Let	A point that is replayed

The words inside a single game

Love

“Love” is the call for zero, and you hear it every time a game starts: “love-all”, “15-love”, “love-40”. The server’s score is always called first, so 30-15 means the server has two points and the receiver one, while 15-30 is the other way round.

The origin of love is one of the sport’s favourite arguments. The explanation you will hear most often is that it comes from the French word for egg, l’oeuf, because a zero looks like an egg. Wikipedia’s article on the scoring system lists that idea alongside others: that people played “for love”, meaning without stakes, and a Dutch phrase meaning to do something for praise. None of them is proven, and the egg story in particular is widely treated as folk etymology. The honest answer is that it is probably one of the sport’s mysteries. What matters on court is simple: love is zero.

15, 30 and 40

A player needs four points to win a game, and those points are called 15, 30, 40 and “game”. The jump from 30 to 40 (not 45) is the part that makes beginners laugh, and the correct response is that the jump has never been logically explained.

The best-known theory is a clock face: each point moved a hand a quarter-turn, 15, 30, 45 and 60, and 45 was later shortened to 40. It is a neat story and it appears in almost every explainer, but historians have raised problems with it, including that minute hands were not common when this scoring is thought to have begun. What can be pointed to is a medieval source. According to Wikipedia, the earliest reference is a 1435 ballad by Charles d’Orléans that uses the French “quarante cinq” (forty-five), which later shortened to forty. Why the first step is 15 is, in the words of that article, obscure. Another suggestion is that the numbers come from counting in base 60 and medieval money, because players wagered on the game. Treat all of it as a theory, not a fact.

The practical point: you do not need to understand the history to keep score. Just remember that the numbers are labels. Zero, one, two and three points won are “love”, “15”, “30” and “40”.

Tied scores: “15-all” and “30-all”

When both players have the same score at 15 or 30, you say “15-all” or “30-all”, not “15-15”. At 40-40, you say “deuce”. These are the only special names for ties, and the server calls them as part of announcing the score before each point. If you are still arguing about whether it was 30-15 or 15-30, our etiquette guide explains why the server announces the score before every point.

Deuce

Deuce means 40-40, three points each. From here, winning the next point is not enough: a player has to win two points in a row to take the game.

The usual explanation is that “deuce” comes from the French “à deux” or “deux”, two, as in “two points are needed”. That matches how it works, but, as with the other terms, it is the common explanation rather than a documented one. Wikipedia mentions another clock-based idea, that a player who won two points in a row from 40-40 would reach 60 and otherwise the score “returned” to deuce. It calls that origin unlikely.

Advantage

The first point after deuce gives one side the advantage, often shortened to “ad”. The call is “ad in” when the server is ahead and “ad out” when the receiver is ahead (you will also hear “advantage Smith”). If the player with the advantage wins the next point, they win the game. If they lose it, the score goes back to deuce.

A game can loop between deuce and advantage many times, which is why some formats remove it (see no-ad below).

This is also why the left side of the court is called the ad court: the advantage point after deuce is served from that side, as the glossary of tennis terms explains. The right side is the deuce court.

Game point, break point, set point and match point

These are the pressure words. Each one tells you what happens if the next point is won.

• Game point: one point from winning the game. It can happen to either player: a server at 40-love has game point, and so does a receiver at love-40 (that is also a break point).
• Break point: the receiver is one point from winning the game on the server’s serve. It happens at love-40, 15-40, 30-40 or when the receiver has the advantage.
• Set point: one point from winning the set.
• Match point: one point from winning the match.

You can have two at once, such as a break point that is also a set point. A “double break point” simply means the receiver has two chances in a row, for example at 15-40.

Hold and break

Because the server has the edge in a game, winning your own serve is called a hold. Winning a game as the receiver is a break, and it is the moment sets turn. A “break back” means you immediately win the next game on the opponent’s serve to level.

The words that count games and sets

Games, sets and the first to six

Games add up into sets, and in standard scoring a set is won by the first player to six games with a two-game lead. Scores are read with the server’s total first in each game, but in a completed set the winner is usually listed first: 6-4 means the winner took six games to four.

Tie-break

When a set reaches 6-6, most tournaments play a tie-break, a game with its own counting: points are called 1, 2, 3 and so on, not 15, 30, 40, and the first side to seven points with a two-point lead wins the set. Tie-breaks are credited to James Van Alen, who unveiled the idea at the Newport Casino in 1965, per Wikipedia. The US Open used a nine-point version in 1970 and a first-to-seven, win-by-two one from 1975. Wimbledon introduced a 12-point tie-break in 1971, played at 8-8 and not in deciding sets, and moved it to 6-6 in 1979.

A match tie-break (also called a super tie-break) is a longer tie-break, to ten points, that replaces a third set. We explain it fully in our super tie-break rules guide.

Bagel and breadstick

These two are slang, not official terms. A bagel is a set that finishes 6-0, from the shape of the zero. A breadstick is a 6-1 set. If you hear someone say they “got bageled”, they lost a set without winning a game.

Changeover

A changeover is the short rest when players switch ends of the court, after every odd-numbered game. It is when you drink, towel off and, if you are playing socially, check the score with your opponent.

Terms for the serve

• Fault: a serve that does not land in the correct service box, so the point has not started. The server gets a second serve.
• Double fault: two faults in one point, which loses the point.
• Ace: a serve that lands in and that the receiver cannot touch.
• Let: a serve that clips the net and lands in the right box, or any point that is interrupted. A let means replay the point.
• Foot fault: the server steps on or over the baseline, or across the centre mark, before hitting the ball.

If you want help with the serve itself, see our guide on how to serve in tennis.

No-ad scoring

In no-ad (no-advantage) scoring, the first player to four points wins the game. At 40-40 there is a single deciding point and the receiver usually picks which side the serve comes from. The scoring was created by James Van Alen to shorten matches, and it is used in many exhibitions, in professional doubles and in World TeamTennis, per Wikipedia. For recreational players it is a practical way to fit more tennis into a booked hour, which is why a lot of social formats use it. Always agree with your opponent before the match starts; do not assume.

How to use these terms in a casual match

Most recreational tennis has no umpire, so the vocabulary is a tool for avoiding arguments:

1. The server calls the score, loudly, before every first serve, server’s score first.
2. Use “all” for ties below deuce: “15-all”, “30-all”.
3. Agree your format in advance: ad or no-ad, tie-break at 6-6 or a second tie-break to ten in place of a third set.
4. Say it before the point, not after. If both players are unsure, replaying the point is better than arguing about it.
5. Do not assume your opponent shares your jargon. A new player may not know “ad in”, so just say the score.

If you are new to the sport and want to practise these habits, Breakers Open Play is level-matched, drop-in social tennis: you book a seat for your level, show up and play without needing a partner. Open Play runs in Bangkok for now, and you can see the next sessions in the Breakers app. Outside Bangkok, the club directory lists courts in more cities, and our doubles rules guide covers the extras that apply in four-player games.

Why the language is still worth learning

You could argue that a sport should change a confusing scoring system. Tennis has not, apart from tie-breaks and no-ad variants, and the odd vocabulary is part of why it feels like tennis. Knowing it also helps in practical ways: you can follow a broadcast, communicate on court in a doubles match and keep an honest score with someone you have never met.

The history is a good reminder to be humble about folklore. Several of the stories repeated in articles, from the egg to the clock face, are either unproven or doubted by researchers. When someone tells you they know exactly why tennis scoring works this way, they are probably repeating a theory.

Sources

• Wikipedia, “Tennis scoring system” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_scoring_system
• Wikipedia, “Glossary of tennis terms” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_tennis_terms
• Tennis FAQ, “The origins of tennis scoring”, via TennisServer — https://www.tennisserver.com/tennisbiz/0008/0169.html
• Tennis Companion, “Deuce in tennis” — https://tenniscompanion.org/deuce-in-tennis/
• ITF, wheelchair regulations summary of changes 2026 (No-Ad in doubles) — https://www.itftennis.com/media/15816/itf-wheelchair-regulations-summary-of-changes-2026.pdf