How Does Tennis Scoring Work? Everything from Rules, Tiebreakers, and the Points System

Who doesn’t love to see Carlos Alcaraz on the screen? Not Alcaraz? Then you might be a fan of either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic. We are talking about a sport that brings the best of the people around the world, a physically demanding, highly addictive sport of all time. From watching the best of all time greats, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams, to the newly passionate athletes like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Every year, this global sport offers four major grand slams: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open– providing a much-needed entertainment for the fans across the globe. 

But the question remains the same: how to understand this game when someone doesn’t know anything except for some names?

Tennis Equipment

Tennis Ball:According to the International Tennis Federation (ITF), a tennis ball should weigh between 56-59.4 grams with a diameter of 6.54-6.86 centimeters.

Tennis Racket: A tennis racket should be within 73.7 length and 31.7 cm in width. The racket should also have a frame tightly gripped in strings, usually made of nylon, and a handle.

How Does Tennis Scoring Work?

The scoring system in tennis is based on four levels: points, games, sets, and match.

A game is the smallest unit in this sport; it is played till a player scores four points and must remain ahead by two points.

A set is a collection of games, played until a player wins six games or more and has a lead of two games over his/her opponents. If both players end up winning six games each, then a tiebreaker must be played to determine the winner. In a tiebreaker, the first player to score seven points with a two-point lead is declared the winner.

A match comprises multiple sets played. Matches can be played in the best-of-three or best-of-five sets. The player to win the required number of sets (which is usually two or three in numbers) is declared the winner of the match. 

In the above example, Player B won the match, winning by a score of 5-7, 6-7, 6-3. Player A won the third set by three games.

Also Read:Top 10 Longest Tennis Matches in History

Scoring A Game

Points are awarded for the games, and games are won towards sets. Usually, 4 (or more) points are required to win a game, in a sequence of 15, 30, and 40, and finally, the winning point.

If both players reach 40-40, which is also called 'deuce', then whoever wins the next point will have the advantage. If that player manages to win the next point, he or she wins the game. If the opposing player scores the next point, the game once again heads to deuce.

Below is a breakdown of the tennis scoring system within a single game:

• 0 points = Love.

• 1 point = 15.

• 2 points = 30.

• 3 points = 40.

• 40-40 = Deuce.

• Server wins deuce point = Advantage-In.

• Receiver wins deuce point = Advantage-Out.

Scoring A Set

Usually, six games (sometimes seven when the game is tied at 5-5) are required to win a set. A player must also win with a lead of two games to win the set. If both players are tied 6-6, a tie-break is played. The first player to get to 7 points wins the set. It’s worth mentioning that there are different point totals for different tournaments.

Scoring The Match

A match is usually completed when a player either wins two sets in best-of-three sets or three in the best-of-five sets. 

In this example, Player A won the match, winning by a score of 6-4, 5-7, and 6-1. Player B won the second set 7 to 5, reaching the sixth game first but having to win by two games (7 is required to win a game).

Tennis Scoring Rules

There are multiple ways one player can score a point, some of them are:

• An unreturnable ball (ball bounces twice)

• Double fault (missing back-to-back serves)

• Ace (unreturnable serve)

• Ball hit out of bounds (the lines count as in)

• The ball hit the net

Types of Tennis Courts

Tennis is usually played on one of three different surfaces: hard court (or concrete), clay, or grass.

• Hard Court (made of rigid materials like concrete and covered with an acrylic layer)

• Clay Court (made of crushed brick, shale, or stone)

• Grass Court (made of natural grass grown on hard-packed soil)