How does scoring work in tennis matches and what do 15, 30, and 40 mean in tennis scoring?

The scoring system on the ATP and WTA Tours can be a little confusing. Why does tennis count points as '15, 30, 40' and not numerically like most other sports?

Points give you games, games give you sets, and sets give you matches. The scoring in tennis even allows you to win a match by earning fewer total points than your opponent. This was the case for Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, where the Spaniard won a total of 192 points, compared to 193 for his opponent. It mattered little, as the score was 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 in favor of Carlitos, who took home the trophy.

A couple of hours before that, Sinner had three "match points." This means that Sinner was just one point away from victory three times before the match ended. But what does this entire scoring system mean? Here's a breakdown.

1. What do the scores mean? (15, 30, 40...)
2. How do you win a game, set and match?
3. What is a tiebreak and how does it work?
4. Scoring in doubles and singles
5. Common scoring terms every tennis fan should know
6. Tennis scoring in Grand Slams vs regular matches

In tennis, the scoring system can sometimes be confusing for beginners. Points within each "game" are counted as 15, 30, 40, and then "game." The first point is 15, the second is 30, the third is 40, and one more point wins the game, as long as the player has a two-point lead.

This means that when players are tied at 40-40, they are at "deuce." The player who wins the next point gets the "advantage," and if they win the following point, they win the "game." Otherwise, they return to deuce until one player can score two consecutive points.

Although there is debate on the matter, it's believed that the scoring is related to a clock divided into quarters (15, 30, 45, 60). Over time, early tennis players may have opted to say "40" instead of "45" to make the call shorter. In any case, a "game" can last an indefinite amount of time, as the number of points is less important than achieving a two-point lead over the opponent.

To win a game, a player must have at least four points and a two-point advantage over their opponent. If the game reaches deuce, they will have to play at least two extra points to determine the winner of the game.

For each game, one of the players will serve, alternating between games. The player who wins six games will win a set, provided they have a minimum difference of two games. For example, a player can win 6-4, but if the score reaches 5-5, two more games will be played, with the goal of one player getting ahead by two. If they tie again at 6-6, a tie-break will be played. Normally played to seven points with a two-point difference, the tie-break determines the winner of a set when players are tied at 6-6 in games.

In women's tournaments and most men's tournaments, matches are best-of-three sets, meaning the first player to win two sets wins the match. However, in men's Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open), men's matches are played best-of-five sets. This means a player could come back after losing the first two sets, a clear example being the recent Roland Garros final, where Carlos Alcaraz came back from two sets down and won the match in five sets. There is also the issue of super tie-break.

A tie-break is a deciding game used when the score reaches 6-6. It seeks to prevent sets from lasting indefinitely and has a numerical scoring system: 1, 2, 3... until a player reaches seven points with a minimum advantage of two.

In the tie-break, the first player starts serving for the first point, and then they take turns serving two points each. Sides are changed every six points played, maintaining the cycle until one of the players gets seven points—or manages to create a two-point difference after that.

Whoever wins the tie-break wins the set 7-6. In some tournaments or in doubles formats, a 10-point tie-break is used. This was precisely the case in the French Open final, where Alcaraz secured the victory in the fifth-set tie-break by a score of 10-2.

The scoring system for singles and doubles follows the same basic line, though doubles has a few key variations. Each team has two players who take turns serving throughout the set. The first player on a team will serve in the first game, and then when it's the team's turn to serve again in the third game, it will be the second player who serves.

Depending on the tournament, many doubles draws have "no-ad scoring." This means the 15, 30, 40, and game scoring is maintained, but if it gets to deuce, there is no advantage point. In this case, to win the game, it is enough to make 4 points before the rival team, without needing the two-point difference required in singles. After 40-40, the team that wins the next point wins the game.

Additionally, a 10-point tie-break is often implemented to replace the third set. This is a "match tie-break" where the first team to reach 10 points with a two-point difference wins the victory, with the objective of shortening the duration of the match. Recently, in Venus Williams's return to the courts in doubles (along with Hailey Baptiste), they ended up falling in the match tie-break against Taylor Townsend and Shuai Zhang, with a final score of 6-4, 3-6, [10-6].

- Love: Means zero. If the score is 15-love, it indicates 15-0.
- Deuce: Used when the score is 40-40. From there, you need to win two consecutive points to take the game.
- Advantage (Ad): After deuce, if a player wins a point, they have the advantage. If they win the next point, they win the game. If they lose it, they return to deuce.
- Break: When a player wins the game in which their opponent was serving.

- Break point: When a player has a chance to break. For example, with player 1 serving at 30-40, player 2 has a break point—a chance to 'break' their opponent's serve on the next point.
- Set point / Match point: A point that, if won, grants the set or the match, respectively. The same point can be simultaneously a break, set, and match point depending on the circumstances.
- Tiebreak: A tie-breaker game played when a set score is 6-6. Unlike the rest of the scoring (15, 30, 40...), this is done numerically (1, 2, 3...).

In regular tournaments, the scoring system is best-of-three sets, with tie-breaks in each set if necessary. This applies equally to men's and women's tournaments. The only exception is the four Grand Slam tournaments: Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. In these, the men's singles draws are decided in best-of-five sets.

For some time now, all Grand Slams have adopted a super tie-break for the decisive set, to 10 points with a two-point difference. Previously, there were sets that had no limits, as games were played until one of the players got a two-game lead. This all changed with the famous match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010, which took 3 days and more than 11 hours to decide the winner with an impressive 70-68 in the fifth set.