Tennis is a high-profile sport that has been embraced by an army of punters, but while those in the know may be able to tell the difference between the deuce court and the advantage court - or ad court as it is more commonly known - spare a thought for those just starting out on their tennis journey.
Below we attempt to explain some of the more common terms used in the sport in the hope that they will be of use to readers, whether they be aficionados or novices.
Scoring Explained
Sets
Sets are the longer units that make up a tennis match. They are composed of a number of games. Most matches are contested over the best of three sets, but while the length of women’s matches stay at that distance in the four Grand Slam tournaments, men’s matches rise to best of five in the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
Most sets are won with six games, although closer sets can be won with seven games. Very occasionally, certain tournaments, for example the Next Gen ATP Finals for players no older than 20, run a shorter-set format in which four games are enough to win a set.
Games
Games are the units, or periods of play, that make up sets. A game can be won in as little as four points. The scoring goes from zero - love is the term in tennis for zero - through 15, 30 and 40 and a game would be won if a player wins the next point after 40 and his or her opponent is on a mark of 30 or lower.
Deuce
Deuce is the term used when the score in a game is level at 40-40. The first instance of deuce is when each player has won three of the first six points contested, but from then on the player has to win the game by two clear points.
From deuce, the next point won would see one player have the advantage and the point after that would either see the player with the lead win the game or the scoreline could return to deuce.
Tie-Break
The tie-break is used to decide the winner of a set when the score stands at 6-6; that is, each player has won six games. In most instances, the tie-break is the first player to win seven points but he or she must win by two clear points, or else the tie-break continues as sudden-death until one player takes a two-point lead.
However, since the 2022 French Open, all four Grand Slam tournaments, as well as some doubles events, have used 10-point tie-breaks to decide matches that reach 6-6 in the final set (the third set for women and fifth set for men).
Fault & Double-Fault
In the first point of a game, the aim is that the first serve goes over the net and into the receiving player’s deuce court or right service court. If that first serve doesn’t go into the correct box, it is called a fault.
If the player serving makes two mistakes in the same point, that is called a double fault and the point is awarded to their opponent.
Aces
Aces are successful serves in which the ball is not touched by the player receiving.
First Serve & Second Serve
The first serve is the first delivery from the player who initiates the point. If the serve is incorrect, it is then played again as a second serve. With two chances at serving, the first serve is almost always faster than the second.
The second serve is the final chance to get the ball in the appropriate box on the opposite side of the court, so players regularly make their second delivery slower in order to ensure it is not faulty.
Let
A let is any instance where players replay a point except when it is called on a second serve. There are a few different instances when a let may be called. A service let, for example, occurs under three different circumstances. First, the ball hits the net, usually the cord at the top, but still lands in the correct service box. Second, the ball hits the net and then the receiving player before hitting the ground. Third, the server delivers the ball before his or her opponent is ready.
There are also other instances in which a let may be called; for example, when there is a distraction that interferes with play or when someone in the crowd, possibly affecting a player’s line of sight, is moving during a point.
The Next Gen ATP Finals applied a no-let rule in its 2018 edition, but the move wasn’t successful and lets were reinstated in the 2019 tournament.
