Tennis scoring system explained: how does it work? - tennis lovers (2023)

Tennis is a great and fun sport, but it has one of the strangest ways of scoring in the sport. This guide will help you learn how to score in tennis so that, in the end, it will be much easier to digest.

Basic structure of a tennis match

At the start of a game, both players are zeroed out, which is known as "love-all". If a player scores: 15 to love, the server's score is announced first, followed by the receiver's. The second player gets a point, so he is now down to 15 points. The next score is 30, then 40, and the fourth point will win the game. If the players are tied at 40, this is called a two. From there, the next player to score a point has the advantage, but usually must win by a two-point margin. That means getting it right twice in a row to win the game. Add to that, six or more of those games make what's called a set, and the set must be won in two games or it goes to one.tiebreaker. Once the set is over, it will be repeated. To win the entire game, you must win three sets out of five or two sets out of three, depending on the competition.

Tennis scoring history

It was formerly thought that the dials were used to count points with a quarter movement of the minute hand to indicate a score of 15, 30 and 45. When the hand moved to 60, the game was over.

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To ensure that the game is not won by one point, the Deuce was introduced. To keep the score within 60 ticks on the clock, the 45 was changed to 40. So if both players are tied at 40-40, the first player to score a point will score 10 and the clock will move to 50. The player won a second point before the other player could score, he got another 10 and the Clock went to 60. If a player failed to score twice in a row, the clock would go back to 40 and generate another two.

The scoring terminology is also believed to have come from the French game jeu de paume, which means "palm game" in English. This was the forerunner of tennis, where players used their hands to hit the ball instead of using rackets. The game was very popular in France before the French Revolution.

The standard jeu de paume court was 90 feet long with 45 feet on each side. A player would start the game behind the line, if a player won a point they could move 15 feet closer to the net. After the second point, the player would move another 15 feet. After the third point, the player would move 10 feet, which would place him 5 feet from the net.

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game style

Each player can only take a jump on his side of the field to throw the ball to the opponent's side within the limits of the field. If the player does not return the ball, the opponent wins the point. The only exception is wheelchair tennis, where players are given two jumps.

score a game

Scoring in tennis is different from other sports. In most sports, it's the usual "0, 1, 2, 3...". Instead, the terminology used for points is as follows:

  • 0 points = "love"
  • 1 point = 15
  • 2 points = 30
  • 3 points = 40
  • Tie = All
  • 40-40 = Two
  • If players are tied by 1 point each, it's 15-all
  • If players are tied by 2 points, it's 30-all
  • When players tie at 3 points, it's called deuce, not 40-all
  • Server gains two points = Advantage In or "Ad-In"
  • Recipient gains two points = Advantage Out or "Ad-Out"

So how do you win a tennis match? A player or team must win at least four points by a two-point margin to win the game. If a player has 40-love, 40-15 or 40-30 and wins another point, the player wins the game. In case of a tie, the term "all" will be used when the number of points is announced.

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SeDevil(or 40-40) is reached in a tennis match, the player must win two consecutive points to win the match. If the server wins the deuce point, it's called Advantage In or "Ad-In", but if the receiver wins the deuce point, it's called Advantage Out or "Ad-Out". If the player with the advantage gains one more point, he wins the game. But if the other player wins the point, the score goes back to two.

Book a set

Now that you have a general idea of ​​how to win a game, let's take a look at how to win a set. For a player or team to win a set, they must win six games by a margin of two games. However, two common sentence formats determine how a sentence ends.

tiebreaker set

In a tiebreaker set, a player must win six games to win a set. If the score reaches "5-all", one of the players must win the next two games to win the set. If the score in the set reaches '6-all', the players will participate in a '7 points tiebreaker' game. Whoever wins the tiebreaker wins the seven-game set of six "7-6".

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To start the tiebreaker game, the serving player starts by serving a point. The opponent then serves the next two points. From this point, players take turns serving two consecutive points at a time until the end of the game. After every six points, players switch sides of the court. This in turn keeps the game fair while avoiding environmental benefits including sun glare and wind direction.

To win the tiebreaker game, the player must reach at least seven points and be two points ahead of the opponent. If one player has six points and the other five, and the player in front scores the next point, he wins the game and the set. On the other hand, if the players are tied on six points, it doesn't matter who wins the next point because no one can get within two points. Instead, they continued to play until one of them was able to withdraw.

defined value

In a set lead, the first player to win six games by a margin of two games wins the set. This is different from a tiebreaker set. If a score of 6-6 is reached, the set continues until one of the players is two games ahead.

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book a match

Most tennis matches are played in the best of three sets. This means that the first player to win two sets wins the match. however someprofessional tennis tournamentsare played in best of five sets, with the first player to win three sets wins the match.

last words

There is no doubt that tennis scoring can be very confusing, but I hope that after analyzing games, sets, etc., you will have a better understanding of how tennis scoring works. If you want to improve your score, I would recommend playing as much and as often as possible. The best way to learn is to go out and play.

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