How to Keep Score in Tennis

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

Rate: (66 Ratings)

Basically, tennis scoring proceeds from love to 15 to 30 to 40 to game. Why, then, are some games so long?

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Athletic Socks
Tennis Shoes
Tennis Shorts
Tennis Balls
Tennis Racquets
T-shirts

Step1

Note which player is serving the game. The server's score is always announced first.

Step2

Watch for whom the first point is made. A player loses the point by missing the ball, hitting it into the net or hitting it out of bounds. A server loses the point immediately if he or she double-faults - fails to hit the ball in the service square after two attempts.

Step3

Announce the score if you're serving. The first score is 15. A score of zero is "love." If the server makes the point, the score is "15-love." If the other player makes the point, the score is "love-15."

Step4

Note that a player must be ahead by two points to win the game. If the game score progresses to 40-40, or "40-all," a player must gain the advantage ("40-ad" or "ad-40"), and then score the next point to win the game. If the player with the advantage does not score the next point, the score goes back to 40-all.

Tips & Warnings

One person serves an entire game.

Comments

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 11/22/2005 According to the ehow after deuce you would refer to the score as "40-ad" or "ad-40." In my 20 years around the game, I have never heard these terms. If the server wins the point after deuce, the score is then "Ad-In"; conversely, if the receiver wins the point after deuce, it is "Ad-Out." Also, the server should ALWAYS announce the score before each point.

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 11/22/2005 a tip when serving is to try and get some volocity in the ball on your first try. On your second try, dont hit it as hard just try to get it in. Try to let them make the mistake ( dont try to blast it every time, hit it at there backhand so they mess up and hit it out) that always works for me.

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 7/10/2006 The best tips I can give to beginners who are struggling:

A) Always keep your shoulder facing where you want to hit to ensure the ball goes straight, and b) keep the ball at a distance from your body - move about a metre away from the ball and hit, to ensure you don't get "gammy" with the ball hitting your body.