Why 15, 30, 40 and not 1, 2, 3?

Nobody knows for certain. The most quoted theory is the clock: a quarter turn per point, 15, 30, 45, with 45 later shortened to 40. The count is the same anyway: four points per game.

A tie-break is played: to 7 points with a lead of two, serving in turns of two points after the first, changing ends every six points. The set ends 7-6.

How long does a tennis match last?

It depends on the format. An amateur best-of-three match with a deciding super tie-break usually takes one hour to an hour and a half; with no-ad scoring games are shorter. TennisScore records start, end and duration of every set and game.

How tennis scoring works: 15, 30, 40, games and sets

Tennis scoring only looks strange the first time: four points make a game, six games a set, two or three sets the match. Here are all the rules in order, with examples, and at the end how TennisScore applies them by itself.

Points: love, 15, 30, 40 and game

Every rally is worth one point. The first point takes you to 15, the second to 30, the third to 40; the fourth wins the game, but only if the opponent is still on 30 or less. Zero is called “love”, and the score is always announced starting from the server: “15-30” means the server has one point and the receiver two.

Nobody knows for sure where the numbers come from: the most common theory ties them to the quarters of a clock face, 15, 30, 45, with 45 shortened to 40 for convenience.

Deuce and advantage

At 40-40 the score is called “deuce”. From there the game is won with two points in a row: the first gives the “advantage”, the second the game. If the player with the advantage loses the next point, it is deuce again, and this can go on for a while.

Many amateur tournaments and padel use “no-ad” scoring: at 40-40 a single deciding point is played, and the receiver chooses which side to receive from. The match is shorter and its length more predictable.

Games and the set

The set goes to the first player to reach six games with a lead of at least two: 6-4 is fine, 6-5 is not. At 5-5 play goes on: 7-5 closes the set. At 6-6 a tie-break is played.

The server changes every game.
Players change ends after the first game and then every two games (after the third, the fifth and so on), that is whenever the total of games is odd.
In doubles the serving order is decided at the start of each set and stays fixed for the whole set.

The tie-break

The tie-break is counted with ordinary numbers: 1, 2, 3 and so on. It goes to the first player to reach 7 points with a lead of at least two, so it can go on at 7-7, 8-8 and beyond. The player due to serve serves the first point; then each player serves two points in turn, and ends are changed every six points. The set ends 7-6.

Sets and the match

A match is played “best of three sets”, that is, it goes to whoever wins two, or best of five in the men's Grand Slams. Many amateur formats replace the deciding set with a super tie-break: it is counted like a tie-break, but goes to the first to 10 points with a lead of two, and counts as a set.

The variants you meet most often

Short sets to 4 games, with a tie-break at 3-3 (Fast4 and junior formats).
No advantage (no-ad) at 40-40.
A 10-point super tie-break instead of the third set.
A 10-point tie-break at 6-6 in the deciding set of the Grand Slams.

How TennisScore does it

With TennisScore you don't keep count: you tap whoever won the point and the app does the rest, with 15, 30, 40, deuce and advantages, tie-breaks and super tie-breaks, and it tells you who serves and from which side. In the settings you choose best of three or five sets, games per set, no-ad scoring and a super tie-break in the deciding set. Wrong tap? “Undo last point”. And whoever is far away follows the score live with the match code.

How tennis scoring works