Playing A Tiebreaker
Now that you have a handle on how to play a single game (which is part of a set) in a tennis match, let’s talk about tiebreakers. If you’re playing a set, remember that it’s first to six games, and you must win by two. However, if you tie the score at six games apiece, or 6-all, you’re going to need to play a tiebreaker to determine who wins the set.
The best way to think about a tiebreaker is that it’s merely an extended game with more points. The odd part here is that we’re going to go ahead and break all the scoring rules I just taught you.
That is, instead of using love, 15, 30, 40, deuce, ad in, and ad out, we’re now going to use simple point values, i.e., 0, 1, 2, 3. Also, instead of first to three points, win by two like a standard game, a tiebreaker is first to seven points, win by two.
Let’s take a look at another example:
- You serve the first point of the tiebreaker
- It’s 0-0, but again there’s no need to call out this score – it’s assumed
- You win 5 points in a row
- You win the next point
- Your opponent wins 6 points in a row
- You win the next point
- The score is now 7/6 (not over yet – remember you have to win by 2)
- Your opponent wins the next point
- You win the following 2 points
- The game is over, and the score is 9-7
There you have it! At first glance, tennis scoring can seem ridiculously confusing, but hopefully, after breaking it down, you’ve started to master it.
If you’re looking to get even more comfortable with how to keep score in tennis, I recommend playing as much as possible and watch as much tennis as you can. There’s no better way to learn than just to get out there and do it, so it’s time to hit the court.
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