How Does Tennis Scoring Work

How tennis scoring works

The unusual point names (15, 30, 40) come from tennis's medieval origins — the original scoring used a clock face going around in quarters (15, 30, 45, 60), and 45 got shortened to 40 over time. None of this matters for actual scoring; just remember 0, 15, 30, 40, game.

Standard "advantage" scoring at 40-40 (deuce) requires two consecutive points to win the game. The first point after deuce gives the winner "advantage" (called "ad-in" if the server has it, "ad-out" if the receiver does). Win the next point and you take the game; lose it and you go back to deuce. There is no limit on how long deuce can drag on.

A set is won by the first player to reach 6 games with a 2-game margin. So 6-4 is a set, but 6-5 isn't — you need to play another game and win 7-5. If both players reach 6 games each (6-6), most modern tennis plays a tiebreak game to decide the set.

Edge cases and details

No-ad scoring (used in college tennis and some social leagues) replaces deuce with a single sudden-death point at 40-40. The receiver picks which side to receive the serve from. This speeds up games considerably.

A match tiebreak (also called a "super tiebreak") is sometimes used in place of a third set. Instead of playing a full deciding set, players play a single 10-point tiebreak game with win-by-2.

Fast4 is a shortened format used in some events and social play: sets to 4 games, no-ad scoring, no advantage at deuce, tiebreak at 3-3. A full match takes about half the time of standard tennis.

Tennis scoring in plain English

If you've never played tennis, the scoring can sound complicated when described in rulebook language. The reality on court is simpler than it sounds — after a few games, the rhythm becomes obvious. The point is to know what counts as a point, when a game ends, and when the match ends. Everything else is bookkeeping.

Volley scores tennis with all of these formats — standard advantage, no-ad, tiebreaks, match tiebreaks, and Fast4. Pick the format at match setup and Volley applies the right rules from there. You just tap the side that won the point.