How many sets are in a tennis match? Best of three and best of five

A tennis match is played as the best of three sets or the best of five. Most matches, including all ATP and WTA tour singles, are best of three, so the first player to win two sets wins. Men's singles main-draw matches at the four Grand Slams are best of five, so a player needs three. A set is normally won by the first player to six games with a two-game lead, with a tiebreak at six games all. All of this comes from the ITF Rules of Tennis and the 2026 rulebooks of the Grand Slams, the ATP and the WTA, checked on 1 November 2026.

This page is about the shape of a match: how many sets, how many games, and what happens at the end. How points and games are counted, from love to deuce, is in how tennis scoring works.

How many sets in each kind of match

The ITF Rules of Tennis say a match can be the best of 3 sets, where a player needs two, or the best of 5, where a player needs three. Each competition then picks its format in its own rulebook:

So the women's singles at the Grand Slams is best of three, the same as the rest of the women's tour. Apart from the short-set Next Gen ATP Finals, men's singles at the four majors are the only best-of-five matches in this table.

How many games are in a set

Under the ITF rules, a set goes to the first player to win six games with a margin of two. There are two ways to deal with six games all, and the competition must announce which one it uses:

• Tiebreak set. At six games all, the players play a tiebreak game, and its winner takes the set 7-6. A tiebreak set can never go past 13 games. This is the normal format on the tours.
• Advantage set. The set simply carries on until someone is two games ahead, so it can finish 8-6, 10-8 or longer.

That means a set ends 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 or 7-6 under the usual tour format. The ITF rules also allow short sets, first to four games with a tiebreak at four all or three all, which is what the Next Gen ATP Finals uses. The tennis terms glossary explains the slang, such as a bagel for 6-0.

What happens in the final set

The deciding set is where formats differ most:

• Grand Slams. The 2026 Grand Slam rulebook says a 10-point tiebreak is played in the final set. In the ITF's description of that format, it starts at six games all and the first player to ten points with a two-point lead wins the match.
• ATP and WTA singles. Every set, the third included, is a tiebreak set with an ordinary seven-point tiebreak at six all.
• Doubles. On both tours, a 10-point match tiebreak replaces the third set entirely. It's played at one set all, and the first team to ten points with a two-point lead wins.

The difference between a final-set tiebreak and a match tiebreak matters on the board. A final-set tiebreak only happens if the set reaches six all, while a match tiebreak happens every time the doubles is level at one set each. Either way, a handful of points decides the whole match, so the price can swing hard from point to point. Tennis tiebreak rules explains how each kind is played.

Why best of five changes the price

The number of sets changes how much one lost set costs, and that shows up in the price. These figures come from the same point-by-point model that runs the win-chance calculator. It assumes each player holds serve at a fixed rate and treats every point as independent, so it's a baseline, not a prediction.

Two things stand out. Best of five makes the better player more likely to win, because a longer match gives the gap between them more points to show. And it softens the blow of losing a set: the stronger player who drops the first set is still the favourite in a best-of-five match, but an underdog in a best-of-three one.

This is why the first set of a men's Grand Slam match is worth less to the price than the first set anywhere else. Best of five also takes far longer, as how long is a tennis match shows. Put any score into the win-chance calculator with best of three or best of five selected to see the difference for yourself, and read how tennis prices work for why a price and a chance are the same thing.

Sources

All checked on 1 November 2026: the ITF's 2026 Rules of Tennis, Rules 6 and 7 and Appendix VI; the 2026 Official Grand Slam Rule Book, section L; the 2026 ATP Official Rulebook, including the Next Gen ATP Finals format; and the 2026 WTA Rulebook, section 39. Model figures are from the 77 Tennis win-chance model. Where this page and the rulebooks disagree, the rulebooks win.

FAQ

How many sets are in a tennis match?

Three or five. Most matches are best of three, so the first player to win two sets wins. Men's singles main-draw matches at the four Grand Slams are best of five, so a player needs three.

How many sets do women play at Grand Slams?

Best of three. The 2026 Grand Slam rulebook makes only the men's singles main draw best of five, and the WTA rulebook makes all WTA singles best of three tiebreak sets.

How many games are in a set of tennis?

A set goes to the first player to win six games with a two-game lead. In a tiebreak set, the usual format, a tiebreak is played at six all, so the longest possible set is 7-6, or 13 games.

What is a match tiebreak?

A single tiebreak game that replaces the deciding set. The first player or team to ten points with a two-point lead wins the match. ATP and WTA doubles use it at one set all.

Does losing the first set matter less in best of five?

Yes. In the 77 Tennis model, an equal player who loses the first set keeps about a 32% chance in best of five, against about 26% in best of three.