How To Score In Tennis

Not everyone understands how to score in tennis. Let us face it, if you are unfamiliar with the game, it can be kind of confusing. The point system used is unique to tennis. Scoring terms, such as love and deuce, seem odd, and a match is broken up into games and sets. Yes, understanding how to score in tennis can be confusing; however, once you begin to get a better grasp of the game itself, you will find that it is quite an easy thing to do. 

1. The first thing you will need to know, in order to understand how to score in tennis, is that tennis does not follow a traditional “1, 2, 3…” scoring pattern. Instead, points are denoted as “love, 15, 30, 40, and Winner.” This means that the first point a player scores is 15. If that same player scores again, their score will be 30; and if they score a third time, their score will be 40. The fourth, and last point scored by that same player will win the game. Also, when a player has zero points, their score is called love.  If both players have zero points, the score is love – love.
2. You should also understand that a tennis match is broken into sets, which are broken into games. In essence, it takes four points to win a game. You must win six games to win a set. There are three sets in match. To win a match you must win two sets of the three sets. Take note that men’s professional tennis is slightly different. To win in men’s professional tennis, a player must win three sets out of a possible five. 
3. To score in tennis, it is important to always announce the score of the player who is serving the ball first. This means that if the player who is serving has a score of 30 and his opponent has a score of 15. The score will be announced as 30-15. Conversely, if the server has zero points, also known as love, and their opponent has 40, the score will be announced as love – 40.
4. It is also important to realize that a player must win a game by two points. Essentially this means that if both players have 40, one of them will need to score two consecutive points to win. This can be even more confusing, because the scoring deviates even further than traditional scoring methods. 
5. When both players are tied at for 40, the score is announced as deuce. This just means that both players are tied at 40. The next player to score will have the advantage. For instance, if player one scores, the score will be announced as advantage player one. This player then is required to score a second consecutive point to win the game. If they do not and player two scores, the score reverts back to deuce, and the process is repeated all over again. 
6. To win a set, a player must win six games. An example of a winning set score in tennis is 6-4. This means that a player has won six games and the other player 4.  Since it takes six games to win a set, this player is the winner. 
7. To win a match in tennis, a player must win two sets.  An example of a winning match score is 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. This means that the winning player won the first set by a score of six games to four. They lost the second set by a score of two games to six.  Then, the winning player won the final set by a score of six games to two. Since it only takes two sets to win, they have won the match and should be considered the overall winner.