Tennis scoring confuses newcomers because it counts in three layers at once: points make games, games make sets, and sets make a match. On top of that, the point calls are not 1-2-3 but 15-30-40, and the rules allow several formats, from classic advantage sets to the 10-point match tiebreak used in most doubles events. This guide explains each layer as written in the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026 (Rules 5 to 7 and the appendix on alternative scoring), adds the formats used on the pro tours and in UK and US club leagues, and finishes with worked examples you can follow on a scorecard or on our online scoreboard.
Points in a game: love, 15, 30, 40
A standard game is won by the first player to win four points with a margin of at least two. The calls are:
| Points won | Call |
|---|---|
| 0 | Love |
| 1 | 15 |
| 2 | 30 |
| 3 | 40 |
| 4 | Game (if at least two points ahead) |
The server’s score is always called first, so “30-15” means the server leads. If both players reach 40, the score is deuce. The next point gives advantage to whoever wins it (“advantage server” or “advantage receiver”). If the same player wins the next point too, they take the game; if they lose it, the score returns to deuce. In theory a game can go on forever, and on clay it sometimes feels that way.
No-ad scoring (deciding point)
The ITF rules allow no-ad scoring as an approved alternative. At deuce, a single deciding point is played. The receiver chooses whether to receive in the right (deuce) or left (advantage) court. In doubles the receiving team chooses, and the players may not swap positions for that point. In mixed doubles the player of the same gender as the server receives the deciding point. No-ad is standard in ATP and WTA doubles, in US college tennis and in many league formats, and from 2026 the ITF uses it in wheelchair doubles at all levels.
Games and sets
Players alternate serving every game. A set is won by the first player to win six games with a margin of two games, so 6-4 ends a set but 6-5 does not. What happens at 6-6 depends on the set type agreed before the match:
- Tiebreak set: at 6-6 a tiebreak game decides the set, which is recorded as 7-6.
- Advantage set: play continues until one player leads by two games (8-6, 12-10 and so on). This is now rare at the top level but still allowed by the ITF.
Players change ends after the first, third and every following odd game of each set. At the end of a set they change only if the total number of games in that set was odd; otherwise they change after the first game of the next set.
The 7-point tiebreak
In a tiebreak, points are counted 1, 2, 3 and so on. The first player to reach 7 points with a two-point lead wins the tiebreak and the set. If it reaches 6-6, play continues until someone is two clear (8-6, 9-7, 14-12).
Serving order in the tiebreak is the part most club players forget:
| Point number | Server | Court |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Player A | Deuce (right) |
| 2-3 | Player B | Advantage, then deuce |
| 4-5 | Player A | Advantage, then deuce |
| 6-7 | Player B | Advantage, then deuce |
| … | alternate every two points |
Players change ends after every six points (after 6, 12, 18 points). The player who served first in the tiebreak receives in the first game of the next set. In doubles the same rotation applies, keeping each team’s serving order from the set.
The match: best of three, best of five and the match tiebreak
Most matches are best of three sets. Men’s singles at the four Grand Slams are best of five. Club and league matches often shorten the last set using a match tiebreak, sometimes called a super tiebreak or champions tiebreak:
- At one set all (or two sets all in a best-of-five), a single tiebreak decides the match.
- The first player or team to 10 points with a two-point margin wins.
- Service and change-of-ends rules are the same as in the 7-point tiebreak.
- It counts as one set, usually written in brackets, e.g. 6-4 3-6 [10-7].
The ITF appendix also lists short sets: first to four games with a margin of two and a tiebreak at 4-4. LTA and USTA junior and adult leagues use these short formats widely because they keep matches to around an hour.
Grand Slam final-set rules since 2022
For decades the four majors each settled the deciding set differently. In March 2022 the Grand Slam Board announced a common rule, first used at Roland-Garros 2022 and still in force in 2026: at 6-6 in the final set, a 10-point tiebreak is played (first to 10, win by two). It applies to the main draws and qualifying, in singles and doubles.
| Event | Before 2022 | Since 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | 10-point tiebreak at 6-6 (from 2019) | 10-point tiebreak at 6-6 |
| Roland-Garros | Advantage set, no tiebreak | 10-point tiebreak at 6-6 |
| Wimbledon | 7-point tiebreak at 12-12 (2019-2021) | 10-point tiebreak at 6-6 |
| US Open | 7-point tiebreak at 6-6 | 10-point tiebreak at 6-6 |
So the marathon 70-68 fifth set of Isner v Mahut at Wimbledon 2010 can no longer happen at a major.
Lets, faults and other scoring situations
- Service let: if a serve touches the net and then lands in the correct service box, it is a let and that serve is replayed. The ITF appendix allows a “no-let” alternative, where such a serve is in play; it is used in some college and team formats.
- Double fault: two faults in a row lose the point.
- Wrong ends or wrong server: under Rule 27, points already played stand and the error is corrected as soon as it is found. The 2026 rules clarified that a fault served in a tiebreak before players discover they are at the wrong ends does not stand.
- Foot faults in doubles: the 2026 amendments also confirm the server may stand behind the baseline between the singles and doubles sidelines.
Worked examples
Example 1: a long game. Server wins the first two points (30-love), loses the next three (30-40), wins one (deuce), loses one (advantage receiver), then wins three in a row: deuce, advantage server, game. That game took 10 points: 6 won by the server, 4 by the receiver, and the server finished two ahead (6-4).
Example 2: a tiebreak. At 6-6, A serves point 1 and wins it (1-0). B serves points 2-3 and wins both (1-2). A serves 4-5 and wins both (3-2). B serves 6-7 but A wins both: 4-2 after point 6, so players change ends, then 5-2. The remaining four points are split two each, and the tiebreak ends 7-4 to A after 11 points. Check: 7 + 4 = 11, and A leads by 3, more than the required two. The set is written 7-6(4), the bracket showing the loser’s tiebreak points.
Example 3: a Grand Slam five-setter. A score of 6-4 3-6 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(10-8) means the winner took a 10-point final-set tiebreak at 6-6 by 10 points to 8.
Keeping score on court and sources
A quick routine helps: call the server’s score first, announce the game score at each change of ends, and in tiebreaks say the score after every point. For club nights, school PE or a social doubles ladder, you can track points, games and sets on our free online scoreboard, and if you run a knockout event, the tournament bracket generator handles the draw.
Sources: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026 (Rules 5, 6, 7, 18, 27 and Appendix on alternative procedures and scoring methods) and the ITF summary of 2026 amendments; Grand Slam Board announcement of March 2022 on final-set tiebreaks; ITF 2026 regulation changes for wheelchair tennis. National bodies such as the LTA (UK) and USTA (US) follow the ITF rules and add league-specific formats in their competition regulations.