TENNIS RULES EXPLAINED: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO SCORING, SETS AND TIE-BREAKS 

 Published: 03/07/2026 | By: Alex Courbat

If you've ever switched on the telly to watch tennis, looked at the scoreboard flick from 15 to 30 to 40, heard someone shout "deuce!", and wondered whether everyone else received a secret instruction manual, you're not alone. 

Tennis has a scoring system that feels like it was invented after somebody lost a bet. Unlike football, where a goal is a goal, or basketball, where points do exactly what they say on the tin, tennis has its own language. Love. Deuce. Advantage. Break point. Tie-break. It sounds chaotic. 

The good news? Once it clicks, it's actually brilliantly simple. Better still, it creates some of the most dramatic moments in all of sport. Here's everything you need to know. 

How Does Tennis Scoring Work? 

Every tennis match follows the same structure: 

1. Points  

2. Games 

3. Sets 

4. Match 

Think of it like climbing a ladder. Win points to win a game. Win games to win a set. Win sets to win the match. 

 Simple enough. It's the way tennis counts those points that's a little... eccentric. The official rules follow this exact structure. 

Why does tennis score 15, 30, 40? 

Instead of counting 1, 2, 3 and 4, tennis uses:  

• Love (0) 

• 15 

• 30 

• 40 

• Game 

Nobody knows with complete certainty why these numbers stuck around. One popular theory traces them back to medieval France, where clock faces were supposedly used to keep score. Whether that's true or not, tennis has stubbornly refused to change. 

Which, to be fair, is part of its charm. Imagine the atmosphere disappearing if Centre Court started announcing, "Three-two." Not quite the same, is it?

What Does "Love" Mean In Tennis?

Love simply means zero. So if the score is Love-15, the server has zero points while the receiver has won the first point. If it's 30-Love, the server has won the first two points.

A common myth is that "love" comes from playing for the love of the game. It's a nice story, but historians generally believe it evolved from the French word l'oeuf, meaning egg, because an egg resembles a zero.

Either way, nobody enjoys hearing "Love-40".

What Is Deuce?

This is where tennis starts getting spicy. If both players reach 40-40, the score becomes deuce. From there, someone has to win two consecutive points.

• Win the next point? Advantage.

• Win the point after that? Game.

• Lose it instead? Back to deuce you go.

Think of it as tennis refusing to let anyone sneak over the finish line. If you want the game, you've got to earn it properly.

What Is Advantage?

Advantage is exactly what it sounds like. After deuce, the player who wins the next point moves one step closer to taking the game.

Win the following point and the game is yours. Lose it, and everything resets back to deuce. This battle can continue for minutes (or what feels like several business days).

It's one of the reasons tennis produces some of the best momentum swings in sport.

How Many Games Make A Set?

A player usually wins a set by reaching six games. There's one important catch. They also need to lead by two games. That means 6-4 wins the set. 6-5 doesn't.

If the score reaches 5-5, someone needs to make it 7-5. If it reaches 6-6, a tie-break is played in most competitions.

What Is A Tie-Break In Tennis?

A tie-break is tennis' way of settling a close set without everyone needing to cancel dinner plans. Instead of using Love, 15, 30 and 40, players simply count points normally. 0, 1, 2, 3...

The first player to reach seven points wins, but only if they're ahead by two. That means scores like 7-4 and 8-6 are perfectly normal.

If the score reaches 6-6 in the tie-break itself, play continues until someone leads by two points. The winner takes the set 7-6.

How Many Sets Are In A Tennis Match?

Most tennis matches are played as best of three sets. Win two sets and you've won the match. Men's singles at Grand Slam tournaments are one of the few exceptions, using best of five sets instead.

That's why some of tennis' greatest matches seem to last forever. Bring snacks.

Who Serves In Tennis?

One player serves for an entire game before the serve switches. Tie-breaks work slightly differently. One player serves the opening point. The opponent serves the next two.

After that, players alternate every two points until the tie-break is finished.

What Is A Break Of Serve? 

Serving is usually an advantage. So if you win a game while your opponent is serving, you've broken their serve. You'll often hear commentators call it a huge break. That's because it can completely change the momentum of a set. 

Tennis scoring terms every beginner should know:

• Love: Zero points. 

• Deuce: 40-40. 

• Advantage: One point away from winning after deuce. 

• Break point: A chance to break your opponent's serve. 

• Set point: One point away from winning the set. 

• Match point: One point away from winning the match. 

• Ace: A serve your opponent doesn't touch. 

• Double fault: Missing both serves and automatically losing the point. 

Why Is Tennis Scoring So Strange? 

Because it works. Every point matters. Every service game feels like its own little battle. Momentum changes constantly. One moment you're cruising at 40-Love. Three minutes later you're somehow defending your fourth break point while questioning every decision you've ever made. 

It's beautifully cruel. And that's exactly why tennis continues to produce some of the greatest sporting drama you'll find anywhere. 

Tennis Scoring Explained In One Minute 

Still confused? Here's the quickest way to remember it. 

• Four points usually win a game. 

• Six games usually win a set. 

• Two sets usually win most matches. 

• If a game reaches deuce, you need two points in a row. 

• If a set reaches 6-6, a tie-break usually decides it. 

Win the required number of sets and it's game, set, match. That's it. 

The next time you hear "15-Love", you'll know exactly what's going on. Before long, you'll probably find yourself debating whether that was really an ace or just a spectacularly lazy return. 

Welcome to tennis.