Tennis Rules and Scoring
Tennis scoring and rules sound a little weird if you’re not used to the game, but it doesn’t take very long to get the hang of things.
Where to Hit the Ball
Tennis Doubles is two players each end of the court where you use the whole tennis court to hit into (the ball needs to land inside the most outer lines).
Singles is one-on-one play where if the ball lands in an outer alley (1 meter alley either side of the tennis court) it is considered ‘out’.
Game Scoring
0 points = the word “Love”
1 point = 15
2 points = 30
3 points = 40
1 point each you say 15 All
2 points each you say 30 All
3 points each you say the word “Deuce” (not 40 All)
Deuce, Advantage, Game
If the game doesn’t get to Deuce then the player who won 4 points first wins. For example if the score was 40-30 the player with 40 wins the game if they win that next point.
At Deuce, the person who wins the next point has the “Advantage” and depending on what country you are playing in you might say this differently, some players say “Your Ad” or “My Ad” or “Advantage Receiver” or “Advantage Server”.
If the player with the ‘Advantage’ wins the very next point too they have won that game. But if the player who has the Advantage looses the next point then the game continues and the score goes back to Deuce and then the game is played until the player with the Advantage wins the point and so wins that game.
How to Say the Score
When you say the score out loud you always say the score of the server first. Eg. ‘40-love’ would mean the server has 3 point and the receiver has zero points.
Changing Ends, Rests
You change ends of the court every second game starting from the end of the third game in the first set. In a tie break (explained below) you change ends after every 6 points.
Sometimes in social tennis you don’t change ends as it just depends on what you and your partner decide on and how seriously you are competing.
Officially the time you can take when change ends is 90 seconds between games, 2 minutes between sets, and 20 seconds between points.
Serving
When serving, you need to make the ball land in a service box, which are the boxes closest to the net.
At the start of every game, the server stands on the right side of the small line at the baseline and aims for the service box on your opponent’s side. Your aim is to make the ball bounce in the service box that’s diagonal of the side your serving from.
Think of the court as split into two sides, as though there is a line joining the little lines on each baseline. If you are standing on the right of the little line you will serve to the square on your opponent’s right (your left) side of the court.
After that point is over, you move to the other side and aim for the box on your right. Keep alternating sides each point.
Each point the server gets two chances at getting a serve in. If the server misses one serve it’s called a ‘fault’ if the server misses both serves it’s called ‘double fault’. When a player double faults the other player wins the point.
For basic instructions on how to serve see my post, How To Tennis Serve (but I recommend getting a coaching lesson for best results).
ONLINE COACHING – Tennis For Beginners – Online Videos
Sets
When scoring, if you play tournaments, most the time you play best of three sets. In social tennis though it is popular to only play one set.
A set is won by the person who wins 6 games first. However if the score reaches 5-5 (said ’5 All’) then the match can be won 7- 5 but, if the score ties at 6-6 (said ’6 All’) the players then play a tie-breaker.
Tie-Break
A tie breaker (or tie break) is won by the first person to win 7 points but they must win by a minimum of 2 points eg. 7-5, 7-4, 7-3, 7-2, 7-1, 7-0. If the score ties at 6 points each they play until one player wins by 2 points.
Change ends during a tie-break when the total score adds up to 6, 12, 18, 24 etc. For Example, change ends at 3-All, 4-2, 6-0, and again at 6-all, or 9-all.
Courtesy to your Invitee
If you’re new to tennis and have been invited for a hit, the basics are to try to hit the ball so it lands anywhere inside the outer lines.
If you are just having a social hit and you are not keeping the score it is polite to hit the ball straight to the person (not away from them). To be extra courteous to the person, they will love it if you make the tennis ball bounce about 1-2 metres (3-7 feet) in front of where they are standing on the other side of the court.
Hitting Hard
As you play more and more you will get better at controlling where the ball lands. If you are a real beginner please remember that it’s not just about hitting the ball hard so try to go for placement first before power.
You will soon be able to hit the ball hard if you get some coaching. Your coach will teach you how to hit the ball hard and still make it land where you want it to. For now, just go for placement and hit the ball to the person you are playing with (that way they might still ask you to play with them again ;-)
(Feel free to let me know if I’ve forgotten anything and also ask me any questions by adding a comment below)
If you want more information about tennis rules and how to play I suggest getting a copy of Tennis For Dummies. You can read more info about Tennis For Dummies on this site by clicking the image of the book below, or go straight to Amazon.com HERE
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ONLINE COACHING – Tennis For Beginners – Online Videos
