Follow one standard game from love to deuce

Tennis becomes easier to follow when you begin with one game rather than the entire match. The unusual point names are only one layer. Games then contribute to a set, and sets contribute to the match. Keeping those layers separate prevents a score such as thirty-fifteen from being mistaken for the number of games won.

Start with the server

In standard scoring, the server's score is announced first. Love means zero, followed by fifteen, thirty and forty as points are won. The WTA introduction to the game explains this sequence and the relationship between points, games and sets.

Imagine the server wins the first point and the receiver wins the second. The announcements are fifteen-love and then fifteen-all. The words describe each player's points within this game, not how many games they have won in the set.

Work through the ordinary ending

Use two columns on paper, one for server and one for receiver. Award imaginary points and translate the totals into the announced score. Keep the same player in the server column until the game is complete. This paper exercise lets you practise the language without simultaneously concentrating on hitting a ball.

In an advantage game, a player needs at least four points and a two-point margin to win. From forty-thirty, a point for the leading player completes the game. From forty-forty, or deuce, one more point gives advantage and a further consecutive point wins the game. If the opponent wins after advantage, the score returns to deuce.

Keep the next layer on another line

When the game ends, update a separate set-score line. Then begin the next game's point count from love-all. Keeping these records physically separate makes the distinction visible. It is a learning exercise rather than an instruction to keep a written score during ordinary play.

Try a second example with the other player serving. The announcement order changes with the server, even if you remain interested in the same player. This is a common source of confusion when someone follows only their own points.

Confirm the format before playing

Not every recreational session or competition uses advantage scoring. Alternative formats may be agreed or specified by organisers. Ask which format applies before the first game and consult its rules rather than treating this standard example as a universal match procedure.

Once you can track a single game, learn how the chosen set and match formats build on it. One clear layer at a time is usually easier than memorising a large score diagram. The useful first skill is hearing an announcement and knowing whose points it describes.

Rules reference, checked November 2026: WTA: tennis explained. This article describes a standard advantage game.