How tennis scoring works: love, 15, 30, 40, deuce and advantage

Tennis is scored in points, games, sets and matches. Inside a game, the server's score is called first and goes love (zero), 15, 30, 40, then game. If both players reach 40, the score is deuce, and a player then needs two points in a row to win the game: the first gives them the advantage, the second wins it. That's Rule 5 of the ITF Rules of Tennis. Games add up to sets and sets to the match, which how many sets are in a tennis match covers.

This page is about the points and games; serving, faults and lets are in tennis rules explained. The rules below come from the ITF's 2026 Rules of Tennis and the 2026 ATP and WTA rulebooks, checked on 1 November 2026, and the price figures come from the model behind the win-chance calculator.

Points in a game: love, 15, 30, 40

The server's score always comes first. "30-15" means the server has won two points and the receiver one. "15-30" means the receiver is ahead. When the scores are level below 40, the umpire says "all": 15-all, 30-all. "Love-30" means the server hasn't won a point yet and the receiver has won two.

A game won without the opponent winning a point is a love game. A point that would win the game for the server is a game point; a point that would win it for the receiver is a break point, because winning it breaks serve. Those two words matter more than any others to the price, as the section on the price below shows. For the rest of the vocabulary, from ace to walkover, see the tennis terms glossary.

Deuce and advantage

If both players have won three points, the score isn't 40-40 but deuce. From there, the ITF rule says a player needs two points in a row:

1. The player who wins the next point has the advantage. The umpire calls "advantage" and the player's name.
2. If that player wins the next point too, they win the game.
3. If the other player wins it, the score goes back to deuce, and it starts again.

There's no limit on how many times a game can go back to deuce, so a single game can last a long time. It still counts as one game.

No-ad scoring

The ITF rules allow a shorter version called no-ad. At deuce, one deciding point is played and whoever wins it wins the game. The receiver chooses which side of the court to receive from. In mixed doubles, the player of the same gender as the server receives the deciding point.

No-ad is used in professional doubles: the 2026 ATP rulebook uses it in all doubles, and the WTA rulebook in the first two sets of its doubles matches. The Next Gen ATP Finals uses it in singles too. A deciding point can move the price more than an ordinary point, because one rally settles the whole game.

Points in a tiebreak

A tiebreak is played at six games all in a tiebreak set, and its scoring is different. Points are counted as plain numbers: zero, 1, 2, 3 and so on. The first player to seven points with a two-point lead wins the tiebreak and the set, and if it reaches 6-6 it carries on until someone is two clear.

The serve changes in a pattern of its own. The player whose turn it is serves the first point, the opponent serves the next two, and from then on each player serves two points in a row. Players change ends after every six points. The final-set tiebreak at the Grand Slams and the match tiebreak in doubles work the same way, but they're played to ten points instead of seven. Tennis tiebreak rules has the full detail.

What each point is worth to the price

Every point changes the chance of winning the game, and so the chance of winning the match. Here's what the model says for two equal players who each hold serve 81% of the time, at 3-3 in the first set of a best-of-three match with Player A serving:

Points on the server's side barely move the price, because holding serve is expected. Points that bring up a break point move it a lot, because a break is the big event in a set. That's the whole idea behind why the price jumps on a break of serve.

These figures assume every point is independent and both players are equal, so they're a baseline, not a forecast. Put any score into the win-chance calculator to see it for a real match, and read how tennis prices work for why a price of 55¢ and a 55% chance are the same thing.

Sources

All checked on 1 November 2026: the ITF's 2026 Rules of Tennis, Rules 5, 6 and 10 and Appendix VI; the 2026 ATP Official Rulebook; the 2026 WTA Rulebook, section 39; and the 2026 Official Grand Slam Rule Book, section L. Price figures are from the 77 Tennis win-chance model. Where this page and the rulebooks disagree, the rulebooks win.

FAQ

Why is tennis scored 15, 30, 40?

The ITF Rules of Tennis define the calls but don't explain where they came from, and there's no settled answer, so I won't guess. What matters is the order: love, 15, 30, 40, game.

What does love mean in tennis?

Zero. A score of 15-love means the server has won one point and the receiver none. A love game is one won without the opponent winning a point.

What is deuce in tennis?

The score when both players have won three points in a game. From deuce, a player needs two points in a row to win the game: the first gives them the advantage, the second wins it.

What happens if it goes back to deuce?

The game carries on. If the player with the advantage loses the next point, the score returns to deuce, and there's no limit on how many times that can happen.

What is no-ad scoring?

At deuce, a single deciding point is played instead of advantage, and whoever wins it wins the game. ATP and WTA doubles use it.