Video:Basic Tennis Scorekeeping

Transcript:Basic Tennis Scorekeeping

Hi, I'm Jeff Cooper for About.com, here to help you learn how to keep score in tennis.

"Love" and Tennis

Let's say I'm playing singles against Roger Federer. I would serve the first point from the right side. Let's say I win it. That makes it "15-love." I said my number first, 15; he has love, which means zero.

He wins the next point; that makes it "15-all."

I win the next point; that makes it "30-15."

I win the next point; that makes it "40-15."

More Instructions for Tennis Scorekeeping

Now, if win the following point, I'd win the game, but Roger gets his act together, and he wins the next point; it's now "40-30."

Roger wins the next point, so it's "40-all." Now, that's called "deuce."

At deuce, if I win the next point, it's now "ad in," and if I won the point after that I'd win the game, but Roger wins the next point, and it goes back to deuce again.

Roger wins the next point, and it's "ad out," meaning "receiver's advantage."

Winning Tennis

Now, if Roger wins this point, he would win the game, and it could go on forever; it could go ad, deuce, ad, deuce . . . and for that reason, people invented a system called "No Ad" scoring. In No Ad scoring, you use regular counting numbers, "1, 2, 3," and if it gets to "3-all," the next point decides the game, and the receiver can choose which side to receive on. Whoever wins that "3-3" point wins that game.

Once you win a game, you trade ends, and you trade who serves, and you’ll do that (trade ends) at the end of every odd-numbered game.

The first person to win six games by a margin of two or more wins the set, but you can’t win a set for example, 6-5. You could win 6-4, but not 6-5.

Tie-Breakers in Tennis

If you get to 6-6, you can start playing a tie-break. In a tie-break, the first server serves one point from the right, then the other player serves the next two points, first left, then right. It goes back to the first server for two points, and so on until somebody wins seven points by a margin of two or more.

If you win a set, you’re on your way to winning a match. To win a match in most tournaments, you have to win two sets, or at the Grand Slams in men’s singles, you have to win best of five, which means winning three sets.

For more on scoring and the other rules of tennis, visit About.com.