by Chris Pearce

Created on: May 09, 2009   Last Updated: May 20, 2009

Tennis is one of the most popular sports. Nearly everyone has watched a match on television, or played tournaments or fixtures themselves, or had a hit at their local courts. People would have heard the umpire or commentators call scores such as 15-all, 40-30, deuce, and advantage server. But many people may be less familiar with some of the finer points of scoring in tennis and with the reasons these scores and terms are used.

Scoring in tennis is unique to that sport. A match consists of points, games, and sets. The toss of a coin or a racket will decide who serves for the first game. The first point of each game is served from the right-hand side of the court and must land in the left-hand service box at the opponent's end of the court. The second serve is served from the left-hand side into the opponent's right-hand service box. Service keeps alternating between the two sides of the court for the rest of the game. A game is won by the first player who wins at least four points, as long as they are two points ahead of their opponent.

Points are not calculated by simply counting them up, but by using a system that is unique to tennis. The numbers used for each point won by a player are fifteen, thirty, and forty. Thus if the server wins the first point, the score is 15-0 (called 15-love), as the server's score is always given first. If the receiving player wins the first point, the score is 0-15. If the players each win one of the first two points, the score is 15-all. After the next point, the game score will be 30-15 or 15-30, depending on who wins it. If the score gets to 40-30, the server will win the game if they win the next point. A score of 30-40 to the receiver is known as "break point," as that player needs only one more point to break the serve of their opponent. Where either player is only one point from winning the game, the next point is often called "game point." Similarly, "set point" and "match point" refer to what will be the last point of a set or match if the leading player wins the point.

Where the game score reaches 40-all, the term used to describe the score is "deuce," rather than 40-all or 40-40. This is where both players have won three points. "Deuce" is from the French word "deux," meaning two, and implies that at least two more points have to be played before the game is decided. Whoever wins the next point has the "advantage," meaning that if this person wins the following point, they will win the game. If the opponent

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