How to Score a Game of Tennis

With terms like love and deuce and the odd point system of love, 15, 30, 40, and win it can seem like tennis is a difficult game to score. However, the game is not difficult to score. In fact, instead of using love, 15, 30, 40, the numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3 can be used. They mean the same thing.

However, a little bit more is knowledge is needed for scoring a game of tennis.

Understand the terms game, set and match

A game is the smallest unit of tennis. A set is the unit that is made up of games. A match is a until made up of sets. There are six games in a match and two matches in a set. Sometimes there are three matches in a set, but there are usually two. It is also important to know that a game is won once one player reaches four points.

Starting the Game

In order to score a game of tennis, it is important to know how a game of tennis is started. One of the players can either choose the side of the court or if they are serving or receiving the serve from the other player. Once one thing is chose, the other player gets to choose the other.

The server must hit the ball with the racket before it bounces. The ball must also go into the court diagonally opposite of the server. The server gets two tries to serve, but if the serve is not completely properly, then the other player gets a point.

However, if the ball hit the net, the server gets to try again. The server changes after each point is called. The server also always calls out the score, server's score first then opponent's.

Scoring a Tennis Game

Each tennis player has to hit the ball over the net after it bounces once in the court. The ball is still in play if it bounces on one of the lines of the court. It is only when the ball does not make it over the net or goes too far past the court that the other player gets a point.

This means that if one player scores two points in a row, the points would be 15-love and then 30-love. However, if each player scores a point, the score is 15-love, then 15-all. All is used instead of repeating the number. Remember that saying "15-all" is just like saying 15-15 (or 1-1).

A game continues until a player wins. The game may get all the way to where it is "40-all." The only way for either player to win is to score the next point.

It is also possible to have 40-love and then the player who is behind starts getting points, so the score would go 40-15, 40-30, and 40-40. If the score of a tennis game gets to 40-40, it is called a deuce. The next player to score wins the game.

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Sources:

Cooper, '¯'¿'½. (n.d.). Simple Introduction to Tennis Scoring for Beginners. Tennis at About.com - A comprehensive source of tennis information. . Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://tennis.about.com/cs/beginners/a/beginnerscore.htm

Rules of Tennis Simplified. (n.d.). Home - Westlake City Schools . Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://westlake.k12.oh.us/hilliard/whspe/tennis/tennis_rules.htm