Rules of Tennis

SCORING
Points in tennis are called love, 15, 30, 40, deuce and advantage.

THE GAME 0, or nothing, is called 'love'. It is believed to come from the pronunciation of the French word 'l' oeuf', which sounds like 'love. The use of 'l'ouef', meaning 'egg', to denote nothing, is derived from the shape of an egg. The first point won by a player is called 15, the second point, 30, the third point, 40. If a player then wins a fourth point before his opponent has won three points, then that player wins the game. However, if both players have won three points (40-all), the score is then deuce, and it is necessary to win two points in a row to win the game. The word 'deuce' comes from an Old French word 'deus', meaning 'two'. The first point won after a score of deuce is called advantage, either to the server of receiver, but if that player loses the next point then the score returns to deuce.

THE SET The first player who wins six games, wins the set, provided he has won two more games than his opponent. If the score reaches five games to six, then the winning player must win the next game. If the score reaches six games all, then it becomes a tiebreaker.
Men usually play the best out of five sets and women, the best out of three sets.

THE TIEBREAKER in most matches, when a game score of six all is reached, a tiebreaker is played. In a tiebreaker the points are called 1, 2, 3, etc. Each side serves only once. This is so an not to give too great an advantage to the server. The player who wins the tiebreaker game is the player who wins seven points with at least two more points than his opponent. He wins the set seven games to six. In a tiebreaker the players must keep playing until one player is two points ahead.
In doubles the players serve alternately in the same order as before.

CHANGE OF ENDS The players change ends every time the total number of games played is uneven. This is so as not to give one player an advantage in outside conditions, such as wind or sun. This sometimes looks silly when tennis is played indoors, but those are the rules, and it also gives the players a chance to get some rest. In the tiebreaker the players change ends after every six points.

TIME BETWEEN POINTS The rule book says play must be continuous, but it also says that you may take no longer than thirty seconds before playing the next point.
On the changeover the resting time is one minute. So as soon as the last point of the game is played, you will have ninety seconds before you have to start the next point.

ON THE LINE A ball that touches only a hair of the line is in, even if 99 per cent of the ball touches the ground outside the line.