According to the United States Tennis Association, tennis is the fastest growing sport in America. Participation grew 43 percent during the period between 2000 and 2008. Variations do occur in some tennis formats--such as Quickstart Tennis for small children--but there are some standard rules that need to be followed the majority of the time when a tennis set is played. It follows the succession of points, then games, then set.
Points
The rules for scoring of points in a tennis match is a bit unusual. Both players start out with no points, and that is referred to as "love." When the first point is earned, it is "15," the second point is "30" and the third point is "40." So, if you won three points and your opponent won one, the score would be "40-15." On the fourth point you could win the game, however, you must win a game by two points. If the score reaches a tie of "40-40," it is called deuce, and a player must win two points in a row to take the game. When a player wins a point at deuce, he has the "advantage." The game will continue as long as it takes for someone to win two points in a row.
Games
A player must win at least six games to complete a set. Just like in the points, you must win by two. In other words, you can take a set with a score of 6-4, but not 6-5. It is possible to win a set at 7-5, but if players reach a score of 6-6, a tiebreaker must be played. The tiebreaker does not score points the way a game does, it scores sequentially--1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. A player must win at least seven points, again winning by two. A tiebreaker can go on indefinitely until a player has obtained two points more than their opponent. There is something called an "advantage set" where tiebreakers are not used, but it's rarely played and not allowed at tournaments.
Sets
Winning a set does not end a tennis match, it just gets you closer to that goal. Tennis matches are continued until a player wins either two out of three or three out of five sets. Three out of five sets is also an accepted rule for winning a match in tennis, but is usually only played at some men's professional tournaments, including all men's Grand Slam events--the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Women generally play two out of three sets, including at the Grand Slam tournaments. The rule that winning two out of three sets constitutes winning the match is more commonly practiced in recreational and tournament tennis.
Member Comments