Tennis Scoring Explained: Love, Deuce, and Tiebreaks

Understanding Tennis Scoring

Tennis scoring can seem confusing at first, but once you understand the basic structure it becomes second nature.

Points Within a Game

Points go: 0 (love), 15, 30, 40, game. You need to win by two points. If both players reach 40, it is called deuce. From deuce, one player must win two consecutive points (advantage, then game).

Games Within a Set

A set is won by the first player to reach 6 games with at least a 2-game lead. At 6-6, a tiebreak is played. In a tiebreak, points are counted 1, 2, 3... and the first to 7 (with a 2-point lead) wins the set.