THE GAME
Love to game
Points run love, 15, 30, 40, game. At three points each it is deuce, and you need two in a row to win it.
Read a scoreTHE SCORE, EXPLAINED
Love, fifteen,
thirty, forty.
Tennis counts in a way nothing else does.
GAME, SET and match
22 men Players in the only event
- Four points a game
- Six games a set
- Win by two
- Odd numbers, simple rules
Four points win a game, six games win a set, and zero is called love. The rules are simple once they are laid out, and the history behind the strange numbers is still argued over.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Points, games,
sets, match.
Every score is one of three layers.
Learn the first and the rest follows.
THE SET
Six games, by two
The first to six games with a two-game lead takes the set. At six games all, most sets go to a tie-break.
See the history
GETTING STARTED
Try it free
The LTA runs free hour-long park sessions at weekends, with rackets and balls provided.
How to startREAD THE SCOREBOARD
What does the
umpire say?
Pick how many points a player has won in the game to hear how it is called. The bar shows how close that player is to taking the game.
Based on Rule 5 of the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026 (standard game). Some formats use a deciding point at deuce instead.
HOW TO START PLAYING
You do not need
a racket yet.
The LTA lists several ways in, from free weekend sessions to booking a court near you.
Go to a free park session
Barclays Free Park Tennis runs hour-long sessions at weekends on local park courts, for all ages and abilities, with rackets and equipment provided.
Book a group lesson
The LTA's lesson finder lists group sessions near you, a sociable way to learn the basics.
Book a court
Search and book a court near you, whether you want a casual knock-up or a competitive game.
Keep score from day one
Calling love, 15, 30, 40 out loud while you play is the quickest way to make the system feel natural.
TWO NUMBERS FROM 1877
Where the modern
game began.
The first Wimbledon Championships was a small affair,
with one event and a modest crowd.
22 men
Players in the only event
The first Championships had a single event, the Gentlemen's Singles, with 22 entrants. The final was delayed by rain and won 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in 48 minutes.
FIRST WIMBLEDON · 1877
≈ 200 people
Spectators at the final
About 200 people watched the final, each paying a shilling. Women joined the tournament in 1884, and professionals were first allowed in 1968.
THE CROWD · 1877
Figures from Historic UK's history of the Wimbledon Championships. The modern rules are kept by the International Tennis Federation.
WHY THESE NUMBERS?
Nobody is
quite sure.
The most quoted theory is a clock face: each point moved a hand a quarter of the way round, 15, 30, 45, then the game. Another links it to old French courts measured 45 feet a side. Forty is thought to have replaced 45 because it is clearer to call out. Mental Floss sums up the evidence as "still a little shaky".
Love is just as uncertain. One theory says it comes from the French l'oeuf, the egg, for its zero shape. Others, including a lexicographer quoted by NPR, prefer "for the love of the game". The International Tennis Hall of Fame's collections manager traces deuce to the French deux, two.
Questions
Questions people ask
Why is tennis scored 15, 30, 40?
No one knows for certain. Popular theories include a clock face moved a quarter at a time and old French courts measured 45 feet a side. The original sequence is thought to have been 15, 30, 45, with 45 shortened to 40.
Why is zero called love?
Historians do not know for sure. One theory is the French l'oeuf, meaning egg, because of its shape. Another, favoured by some language experts, is that a player with no points is playing for the love of the game.
What happens at 40-all (deuce)?
When both players reach 40, so each has won three points, the score is called deuce. Under the ITF rules the next point gives advantage, and a player must win two points in a row to take the game. Some events use No-Ad scoring instead: at deuce one deciding point is played, the receiver chooses which side to receive from, and whoever wins it takes the game.
How does a tie-break work?
In a tie-break set, a tie-break game is played at six games all. The first player to seven points wins the game and the set, as long as they lead by two points.
What is a 10-point tie-break?
A way of deciding a match that the ITF rules allow as an alternative. A match tie-break can replace the final set at one set all, or at two sets all in a best-of-five match. A final-set tie-break is played at six games all in the final set. In both, the first player to win ten points wins the match, as long as they lead by two points.
When was the first Wimbledon?
1877. It had one event, the Gentlemen's Singles, with 22 entrants, and about 200 spectators paid a shilling each to watch the final.
Where the facts come from
Updated
- ITF: Rules of Tennis 2026 (PDF)
- NPR via WRVO: How having zero points in tennis, or 'love', came to sound so sweet
- Mental Floss: Where did tennis get its scoring system?
- Historic UK: The history of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships
- LTA: How to get started playing tennis
What changed
- : Explained No-Ad deciding points at 40-all and added an FAQ on the 10-point match and final-set tie-breaks, from Appendix VI of the ITF Rules of Tennis 2026.