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Step 1
Learn the point values. In tennis, the first point is “15”, the second point is “30” and the third point is “40”. Also, a score of zero is referred to as “love”.
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Step 2
Announce the score correctly. In a tennis match, it is customary for the serving player to announce the score before they serve. The serving player should announce his score first, followed by his opponent’s score. For example, if the serving player has 30 points and his opponent has 15 points, the serving player should announce “30-15” before serving.
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Step 3
Know what it takes to win a game. To win one game, a player has to score four points. An exception arises if both players have three points (40-40). This is referred to as “deuce”.
When the score is deuce, the player that wins the next point has the “advantage”. If the player with the advantage scores the next point, they win the game. If the other player scores the next point, the score goes back to deuce. This continues until someone wins the game. When the serving player announces the score, she will commonly announce “ad in” if she has the advantage and “ad out” if her opponent has the advantage. -
Step 4
Understand match structure. Once a player wins six games, they win the set. A standard tennis match is played as best of three sets. The great thing about tennis is that you can play one set if you’re short on time or best of five sets if you want to have a long match.
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Step 5
Note the special match rules. Players have to win a set by two games. This means that if the game score is tied at 5-5, one player will have to win the next two games in order to win the set. If the game score is tied at 6-6, the players have to play a tiebreaker.
In a tiebreaker, the first player to score seven points wins. One player serves for the first point and then the players alternate serving two points in a row until someone has seven points. Again, you have to win by two points, so if the tiebreaker score is 7-6, the player with seven points has to score one more point in order to win. The tiebreaker keeps going until someone wins by two points.
