Tennis Scoring Terms Explained (Beginner’s Guide)

Tennis has one of the most unique scoring systems in sport, with terms like love, deuce, break point, and tiebreak often confusing new fans and players.

In this guide, you’ll learn the most important tennis scoring terms, what they mean, and how they are used during a match.

How Tennis Scoring Works

A tennis match is made up of:

1. Points
2. Games
3. Sets
4. Match

Players win points to win games, games to win sets, and sets to win the match.

Basic Tennis Point Scoring

The standard point sequence in tennis is:

Example:

• 15–0 = server won the first point
• 30–15 = server has two points, opponent has one
• 40–30 = server is one point away from winning the game

Common Tennis Scoring Terms

Love

“Love” means zero points.

Examples:

• Love–15
• 30–Love
• Love–Love

Nobody knows the exact origin of the term, but it has been used in tennis scoring for centuries.

Deuce

Deuce occurs when both players reach 40–40 in a game.

At deuce, a player must win two consecutive points to win the game.

Advantage

After deuce:

• The player who wins the next point gets the advantage
• If they win the following point, they win the game
• If they lose the next point, the score returns to deuce

Examples:

• Advantage Federer
• Ad-In (server has advantage)
• Ad-Out (receiver has advantage)

Game

A player wins a game by winning at least four points and leading by two points.

Example scores:

• 40–15 → one point from game
• Advantage → one point from game

Set

A player wins a set by winning at least six games and leading by two games.

Common set scores include:

• 6–0
• 6–3
• 6–4
• 7–5

If the score reaches 6–6, a tiebreak is usually played.

Match

Matches are usually played as:

• Best of 3 sets (most ATP/WTA events)
• Best of 5 sets (men’s singles at the four Grand Slam tournaments)

The player who wins the required number of sets wins the match.

Tiebreak

A tiebreak is used to decide a set when the score reaches 6–6.

Unlike a regular game, tiebreak points are counted numerically: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on.

The first player to reach 7 points with a two-point lead wins the tiebreak and the set.

Example:

• 7–4
• 8–6
• 10–8

The player whose turn it is to serve serves the first point in a tiebreak, after which the players alternate serving two points each.

Match Tiebreak (Super Tiebreak)

A super tiebreak is often used instead of a final set in doubles matches and some tournaments.

The first player/team to reach 10 points with a two-point lead wins.

Game Point

A game point occurs when a player is one point away from winning a game.

Examples include:

• 40–0
• 40–15
• 40–30
• Advantage server

A player can have more than one game point in the same game if they fail to convert the first opportunity.

Set Point

A set point occurs when a player is one point away from winning a set.

For example, if a player leads 5–4 and 40–30 on their opponent’s serve, they have a set point because winning the next point would give them the set 6–4.

A player may have several set points before eventually winning the set.

Match Point

A match point occurs when a player is one point away from winning the match.

For example, if a player leads 6–4, 5–3 and 40–30 in a best-of-three-set match, the next point is a match point.

If the player fails to win that point, they may get another match point later in the game or match.

Break Point

A break point occurs when the receiving player is one point away from winning the game on the opponent’s serve.

Examples:

• 30–40
• Advantage receiver

Breaking serve is considered very important in tennis because serving gives a natural advantage.

Service Break

A service break happens when a player wins a game on their opponent’s serve.

Example:

If the score moves from 2–2 to 3–2 after the receiver wins the game, they have broken serve.

Hold Serve

Holding serve means winning your own service game.

Players with powerful serves often have high hold percentages.

Double Fault

A double fault happens when a player misses both serves on the same point, automatically losing the point.

Ace

An ace is a serve that the opponent cannot touch with their racket.

Big servers like John Isner and Ivo Karlović are famous for hitting large numbers of aces.

Let

A let occurs when:

• The serve clips the net
• But still lands in the correct service box

The serve is replayed without penalty.

Unforced Error

An unforced error is a mistake made by a player without heavy pressure from the opponent.

Examples include:

• Missing an easy forehand
• Hitting a simple volley into the net

Winner

A winner is a shot that lands in and cannot be returned by the opponent.

Love Set

A love set is a set won 6–0.

Example:

• 6–0, 6–3

Bagel and Double Bagel

A “bagel” is slang for winning a set 6–0 because the zero resembles a bagel. A “double bagel” is when you win 6-0, 6-0.

Breadstick

A “breadstick” refers to a 6–1 set score.

Golden Set

A golden set is when a player wins a set without losing a single point.

It is extremely rare in professional tennis.

How to Read a Tennis Score

A tennis score is usually shown by listing the number of games each player won in each set.

For example:

6–4, 3–6, 7–5

This means the winning player:

• Won the first set 6–4
• Lost the second set 3–6
• Won the final set 7–5

During a set, the score shows how many games each player has won.

For example, if the score is 4–2, one player has won four games and the other has won two.

Within an individual game, points are scored as Love, 15, 30, 40 and Game.

For example, a score of 30–15 means the player whose score is announced first has won two points in the game, while the other player has won one.

Tennis Scoring Example

Here’s an example of how scoring progresses in a game:

1. Love–Love
2. 15–Love
3. 15–15
4. 30–15
5. 40–15
6. Game

If the score reaches 40–40:

1. Deuce
2. Advantage Player A
3. Deuce
4. Advantage Player B
5. Game Player B

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