The US Open is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world! The United States Tennis Association (USTA) organizes the US Open every year.
The tournament has particular rules that tennis players must follow when playing singles and doubles match. One of these rules is how points are scored in the point system to win the game.
In explaining how points are scored during the US Open tournament, we assume that each point starts with a clean slate, i.e., there are no pre-existing conditions that affect future scoring on the current point being played.
We also assume that players always play to the end of each point. If a player retires, quits, or defaults during a match, then scoring will be affected.
So, if you're new to tennis and want a better understanding of the tennis scoring system or just want more information about what's happening in your favorite tennis matches, keep reading!
Tennis matches are divided into three parts: a game, a set, and a match.
A tennis game is played until a player scores four points, which can be obtained in various ways.
A set is a group of games played until a player wins a minimum of six games. The first side to win six games with a margin of at least two games over the other side (e.g., 6–3 or 7–5) wins the set.
If the set is tied at six games, the set is usually decided by a tie break game (third set).
A tennis match is played in best-of-three or best-of-five sets. When a tennis player or a doubles team wins most of the prescribed number of sets, the match is won. This means the first tennis player or doubles team to two sets wins, or best-of-five (first to three sets wins).
A Championship tennis match is usually played over five sets.
Don't be put off by the way tennis scores are kept. Tennis scoring is unconventional, but when broken down little by little and point by point, it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it!
In tennis, the server's score is always called first, followed by the receiver's score. Tennis score calling is unique in that each one point has a different call than its point value (except in a tie break). The umpire, or the server, if there is no umpire, announces the current point score orally before each point.
A player must win at least four points to win the game. You win the game if you are up 40-30, 40-15, or 40-love and win one more point. When a game or set is tied, you use the term "all" when announcing the score. A 30-all score would be achieved, for instance, if both you and your opponent scored two points each.
The origins of the scores 15, 30, and 40 are thought to be medieval French. On the tennis court, it's possible that a clock face was used, with a quarter move of the hand to indicate scores of 15, 30, and 45. The tennis game ended when the hand reached 60.
Another theory is that the scoring system was inspired by the French game jeu de paume (a French word, precursor to tennis which initially used the hand instead of a racket). Before the French Revolution, jeu de paume was extremely popular, with over 1,000 tennis courts in Paris alone.
The traditional tennis court was 90 feet long and 45 feet wide on each side. When the server scored a single point (one point), they moved 15 feet forward. If the server scored the next point (two consecutive points), they would move 15 feet. If the server scored the next point (third point), he or she could only move ten feet closer.
In tennis, the word "love" represents a score of zero points. There are only a few scenarios in which we use the score of love in tennis. Here are a few of them:
When starting a new game, the score is technically love-all or zero to zero.
Listed below are the possible score of zero if your opponent is serving, and the love score would be called first.
Love-15
Love-30
Love-40
As you'd be calling out your score first if you were serving and you win the first point, this would be the possible score of zero.
15-love
30-love
40-love
If you win the first three games, it is perfectly acceptable to call a three-to-zero score in a set.
It is also perfectly acceptable to declare a three-love score.
The first theory is that the word ‘love' is a homophone for the French word oeuf, which means ‘egg.' It's because the egg's oval shape corresponds to the number zero, making a score of zero easy to remember.
The second theory is that the origin of the term "to play for the love of the game" was adopted. The underlying principle here is that if a person is playing because they enjoy it (play for love). They are less likely to be compensated for their efforts as a result.
There is some debate about how the origin of the term "love of the game" came to be used now. However, the most widely accepted explanation is that those with zero points were still competing for the "love of the game" despite their score of zero being negative.
The basic concept of tennis is that a player must hit the tennis ball over the net into a defined area known as the court. Your opponent will attempt the same thing. If both tennis players succeed, you will engage in a rally, a ball being hit from one side of the tennis court to the other, back and forth, aiming to score points and win the game.
Scoring points in multiple ways as follows:
It is called a let when the ball hits the net cord but still lands in the service court. In this case, no fault has been committed, and the server can take the first service again. There is no limit to how many serve let calls can be made for any given point.
A tennis game is the second stage of the scoring system. The game is composed of a sequence of points played by the same player serving. First to win four points with a margin of at least two points or more over their opponent wins the game. A player wins a set after winning at least six games.
In conventional gameplay, scoring beyond a "deuce" score, in which both players have scored three points, necessitates that one player gets two points ahead to win the game.
This is referred to as "advantage scoring" in tennis or ad.
The first point following a deuce has an advantage.
If they lose the next point, the score will revert to deuce once more because the game is still tied.
If the tennis player or team with the advantage set wins the next point, they must win the game because they lead by two points.
Whenever the server has the advantage, the score may be referred to as "advantage in."
Whenever a server's opponent has the upper hand, the score is called "advantage out."
These expressions are sometimes abbreviated as "ad in" or "van in" or "my ad" and "ad out" or "your ad.”
In professional tournaments, the umpires may also announce the scores using the names of the tennis players, for example, "advantage Djokovic" or "advantage Barty.”
The third stage of the tennis scoring system is a set. A player will win a set once they have racked up enough games. In general, a player will win a set if they win six games before their opponent wins five games. When one of the players achieves this, they win the set. Both tennis players then take a break, and the point and game counting will be reset to 0 x 0 before the new game starts.
An advantage set is played until one player or team has won at least six games and has a two-game lead over their opponent. The set is continued without a tiebreak until a player or team wins by two games.
As of 2019, advantage sets are no longer used under USTA rules, nor will they be used to play at the Australian Open. However, advantage sets will still be open for play at the French Open and Fed Cup as the final set of men's and women's singles.
The origin of the term "tiebreak" was used for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament at the 1970 US Open. The original "sudden death" was a nine-point tiebreak game in which the player who reached five points first was declared the winner. In 1976, the Open adopted the still-in-use tiebreak game system, in which the first player to reach seven points by a margin of at least two wins.
A tiebreak set has its own set of rules. If a set is tied at 6-6, a tiebreak game is played to determine the set winner, resulting in a 7-6 final set score. As opposed to traditional tennis scoring, this is scored one, two, three, etc.
In the tiebreak, the player who begins serving (player X) serves for one point. After this serve, the other side (player Y) will serve for two points. Then, until the final set game is over, each player will serve for two points.
The tiebreak game and final set are won when a player reaches seven points, and they are two points ahead of their opponent. The best way to think of a tiebreaker is as a longer game with more points.
However, different tournaments have different point totals.
The first tennis player or team to win seven points, by two, wins the tiebreak. As a result, the final score can be very high (e.g., 15-13) or as low as 7-0 through 7-5. The tiebreaker game is won by the player who scores 7-6 in the set.
10-point match tiebreakers, also known as super tiebreakers, are sometimes used in place of a final set when a match is tied at one set all. Alternatively, super tiebreakers are used in the case of a best-of-five-sets match, two sets all. Single players or doubles teams who win the super tiebreaker win the match.
Other proper terminologies for super tiebreakers include:
A tiebreaker is a game played when the score is 6-6 in a match. The set is won by the first player to win 7 points by a margin of 2 points, which is 7-6. This is the tie-breaking point of 12 points.
Instead of first to six (6) games, a Pro Set is first to eight (8) games by a two-game margin. When the score is 8-8, a 12-point tie-break is played. Whenever a player wins an 8-game Pro Set, they win the match. Both players must play a 7-point tiebreaker if they are tied at seven games to seven. The tiebreak winner goes on to win the match.
To win a tennis match, a player must win either two out of three sets or three out of five sets, depending on the tournament. The “2 out of 3 rule” applies to the substantial proportion of tennis tournaments.
In other words, to win a match, a player must win two sets before their opponent.
Chair umpires record tennis match scores on either paper or an electronic scorecard for formal scorekeeping. Scorecards allow officials to record points, rule violations, and other match information.
The following standard markings mark each point:
Over the years, scorecards have become increasingly user-friendly. Most scorecards now include spaces for additional lengthy games or tiebreakers, match interruptions, and code violations. They have special provisions to assist in tracking the changes in the ball and service breaks. These modifications have been designed to keep umpires out of the scorecard and more focused on the tennis court, the players, and the match.
Now that you understand how a match is scored let's look at the different types of matches that will be played on the US Open courts.
Women's singles, men's and women's doubles matches are played in best-of-three sets at the US Open, while men's singles are played in best-of-five sets.
Players must win six games to win a set — unless the score reaches 5-5, in which case they can also win a set, 7-5. If the set is tied at 6-all, the winner is determined by a tiebreak game.
Tennis is a complex game that can be difficult to understand without knowing how the scoring system or scoreboard works. Understanding these scoring terms and definitions will help you better enjoy your favorite sport.
Once you understand the basics of how a match is scored, you'll be able to follow your favorite players as they combat each other on the court.
A player’s understanding of tennis can be improved by understanding how scoring in tennis works. Knowing who points are assigned to (serve vs. return) and the difference between tiebreaks/advantage points will make filling out or reading scorecards a piece of cake!
Whether you play for love, play to win, or play for monetary stakes, the most important thing is to get out there and play!
