Scoring in Tennis can be confusing and requires memorisation before one can truly remember all the calls. The terminology and progression of the points is unique to the sport.
The scoring system comprises of points, games, and sets. A set is made up of games (a minimum of six), which is in turn made up of points. A set is won when one side wins 6 or 8 games first. There must, however, be a margin of 2 games won by the winning side. If a set is won with 6 games won by both sides, then the players play a tiebreak. A match is won when a team wins the majority of the sets that have been appointed. Click on the image below to learn more about scoring in tennis.
| Number of Points Won | Call |
|---|---|
| 0 | "Love" |
| 1 | "Fifteen" |
| 2 | "Thirty" |
| 3 | "Forty" |
| 4 | "Game" |
A game is made up of a sequence of points, and a game is won when a side wins 4 points first. In a game, the server calls out the number of points they have, then the number of points the other team has. Tennis is unique in that the calls for the points don't have the same name as the actual points themselves. 0 points is called "love." 1 point is called "fifteen." 2 points is called "thirty." 3 points is called "forty." And 4 points means the game is over. As an example, if one team has 3 points and the other team has 2, the call would be "forty-thirty." When both sides have the same number of points, then the number is called, followed by "all." For example, if both teams have one point, the call would be "fifteen-all."
In a typical game of tennis, there are three sets, and the goal is to win two of the three sets. The sets are made up of a minimum of six games, with the winner getting to six first but ahead of the other player by two games. If the score is 5-6, then the player(s) that is winning must win another game. Unlike points, the score for games is called using normal numbers, with the exception of 0 (love).
